IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


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Photographic 

Sciences 
Corporation 


23  WE!<T  MAIN  STREET 

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(716)  872-4503 


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CiHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

Series. 


CIHM/ICMH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


Canadian  Institute  for  Historical  Microreproductions  /  Institut  Canadian  de  microreproductions  historiques 


Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notes/Notas  techniques  et  bibliographiques 


The  Institute  has  attempted  to  obtain  the  best 
original  copy  availabie  for  filming.  Features  of  this 
copy  which  may  be  bibliographically  unique, 
which  may  alter  any  of  the  Images  in  the 
reproductioii.  or  which  may  significantly  chanije 
the  usual  method  of  filming,  are  checked  below. 


n 


n 


n 


n 

0 


D 


Coloured  covers/ 
Couverture  de  couleur 


I      I    Covers  damaged/ 


Couverture  endommag6e 

Covers  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
Couverture  restaurie  et/ou  peliiculAe 


I      I   Cover  title  missing/ 


D 


Le  titre  de  couverture  manque 


I      I   Coloured  maps/ 


Cartes  giographiques  en  couleur 


Coloured  init  (i.e.  other  than  blue  or  blacit)/ 
Encre  do  couleur  (i.e.  autre  que  bleue  ou  noire) 


r~1    Coloured  plates  and/or  illustrations/ 


Planc'.es  et/ou  illustrations  en  couleur 

Bound  with  other  material/ 
Rali6  avec  d'autres  documents 

Tight  binding  may  cause  shadows  or  distortion 
along  interior  margin/ 

La  reliure  serrde  peut  causer  de  I'ombre  ou  de  la 
distortion  (»  long  de  la  marge  intirieure 

Blank  leaves  added  during  restoration  may 
appear  within  the  text.  Whenever  possible,  these 
have  been  omitted  from  filming/ 
II  se  neut  que  certaines  pages  blanches  ajout^kes 
iors  dune  restauration  apparaissent  dans  le  texte, 
mi\«s,  lorsque  cela  6tait  possible,  ces  pages  n'ont 
pas  dti  fllmies. 

Additional  comments:/ 
Commentaires  supplAmantaires: 


L'Institut  a  microfilm*  le  meilleur  exempiaire 
qu'il  lui  a  6tA  possible  de  se  procurer.  Les  details 
de  cet  exempiaire  qui  sont  peut-Atre  uniques  du 
point  de  vue  bibliographique,  qui  peuvent  modifier 
une  image  reproduite,  ou  qui  peuvent  exiger  une 
modification  dans  la  mithode  normale  de  filmage 
sont  indiquAs  ci-dessous. 


I      I   Coloured  pages/ 


D 


Pages  de  couleur 

Pages  damaged/ 
Pages  endommag6es 


□   Pages  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
Pages  rentaur^es  et/ou  peiliculAes 

0   Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxed/ 
Pages  d6color6es,  tacheties  ou  piqut 


Pages  d6color6es,  tacheties  ou  piqu6es 

Page 

Pages  ddtachiles 

Showthrough/ 
Transparence 

Quality  of  prir 

Quality  in6gale  de  I'impression 

Includes  supplementary  materii 
Comprend  du  materiel  supplAmentaire 

Only  edition  available/ 
Seule  Mition  disponible 


r~~\  Pages  detached/ 

r~rj  Showthrough/ 

I      I  Quality  of  print  varies/ 

I      I  Includes  supplementary  material/ 

|~n  Only  edition  available/ 


Pages  wholly  or  partially  obscured  by  errata 
slips,  tissues,  etc.,  have  been  ref limed  to 
ensure  the  best  possible  image/ 
Les  pages  totalement  ou  partlellement 
obscurcies  par  un  feuillet  d'errata,  une  pelure, 
etc.,  ont  6xi  fiimies  A  nouveau  de  fa^on  A 
obtenir  la  meilleure  image  possible. 


This  Item  is  filmed  at  the  reduction  ratio  checked  below/ 

Ce  document  est  fllm6  au  taux  de  reduction  indiquA  ci-dessous. 


10X 


14X 


18X 


22X 


26X 


30X 


J 


12X 


16X 


20X 


24X 


28X 


32X 


Ills 

du 

difiar 

jna 

lage 


The  copy  filmed  here  has  been  reproduced  thanks 
to  the  generosity  of: 

National  Library  of  Canada 


The  images  appearing  here  are  the  best  quality 
possible  considering  the  condition  and  legibility 
of  the  original  copy  and  in  keeping  with  the 
filming  contract  specifications. 


L'exemplaire  filr.i6  fut  reproduit  gr£ce  A  la 
g6n6rosit6  de: 

Bibliothdque  nationale  du  Canada 


Las  images  suivantes  ont  6X6  reproduites  avec  le 
plus  grand  soin,  compte  tenu  de  la  condition  at 
de  la  nettetd  de  l'exemplaire  film6,  et  en 
conformity  avec  les  conditions  du  contrat  de 
filmage. 


Original  copies  in  printed  paper  covers  are  filmed 
beginning  with  the  front  cover  and  ending  on 
the  last  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, or  the  back  cover  when  appropriate.  All 
other  original  copies  are  filmed  beiinning  on  the 
firs*  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, and  ending  on  the  last  page  with  a  printed 
or  illustrated  impression. 


Les  exenip'siids  originaux  dont  la  couverture  e 
papier  est  imprimde  sont  film^s  en  commengant 
par  le  premier  plat  et  en  terminant  soit  par  la 
dernidre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration,  soit  par  le  second 
plat,  salon  le  cas.  Tous  ies  autres  exemplaires 
originaux  sont  film6s  dn  commandant  par  la 
premidre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration  et  en  terminant  par 
la  dernidre  page  qui  comporte  une  telle 
empreinte. 


The  last  recorded  frame  on  each  microfiche 
shall  contain  the  symbol  —^-(meaning  "CON- 
TINUED ").  or  the  symbol  y  (meaning  "END"), 
whichever  applies. 


Un  des  symboles  suivants  apparaTtrr:  sur  la 
dernidre  image  de  cheque  microfiche,  selon  le 
cas:  le  symbols  — »-  signifie  "A  SUIVRE  ",  le 
symbols  V  signifie  "FIN". 


Maps,  plates,  charts,  etc.,  may  be  filmed  at 
different  reduction  ratios.  Those  too  large  to  be 
entirely  included  in  one  exposure  are  filmed 
beginning  in  the  upper  left  hand  corner,  left  to 
rght  and  top  to  bottom,  as  many  frames  as 
required.  The  following  diagrams  illustrate  the 
method: 


Les  cartes,  planches,  tableaux,  etc.,  peuvent  dtre 
film6s  d  des  taux  de  rdduction  diff^rents. 
Lorsque  14  document  est  trop  grano  pour  dtre 
reproduit  en  un  seul  clichd,  il  est  film6  d  partir 
de  I'angle  sup6rieur  gauche,  de  gauche  d  droite, 
et  de  haut  en  bas,  en  prenant  le  nombre 
d'images  ndcessaire.  Les  diagrammes  suivants 
illustrent  N  mdthode. 


rata 
> 


elure. 


3 


32X 


1 

2 

3 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

im 


AX 


4 


TIIK 


HISTORY    OP    LOUISIANA, 


I'AHTIrlL.vni.Y 


OF  THE  CESSION  OF  Til  \T  COLON \ 


TO  TliK 


UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA: 


Avnii 


AX   IlVTRODrCTORY   ESSAY 


o\  Tin; 


CONSTITITTION  AND  GOVEIIN.MENT 


or  Tin; 


UXIT.ED   STATES. 


BY  RAIilil^:  MAKBOIS, 

ru.n  (IK  KiUNfK,  J<c.  Uc.  ^c. 


^vnmintCo  horn  the  .iFrcnrh 

in  A.N  A-ar.iuc  v.v  (  rnzr,.\. 


t  :    r,;- 


PIIILADKLPH'A: 
CAREY   &    LEA. 


1830 


4c^J. 


vy^^AH 


KASTKRN  DISTHTCT  OF  PfiXXSVLVANIA,  To  ;uf 

UK  II-  KKMKMHKUKI),  tliat  on  tlio  ei,ij!ith  day  of  January,  in  the  fiftv. 
toui'th  yciu-  ()<  the  Independence  of  the  United  States  of  America,  A.  D.  1830, 

CARKV   Si  LKA, 

of  the  said  district,  have  deposited  in  thi^  office  the  title  of  a  hook  the  rieht 
wliL-reol  they  claim  as  proprietors,  in  the  words  fr)llo\\ing-,  to  wit: 

"  The  History  of  Louisiana,  particularly  of  the  Cession  of  that  Colony  to  the 
"  United  .states  of  Aimriia;  with  an  Introductory  Kssay  on  the  Constitu- 
"  tion  and  (.ovcrnment  of  the  United  States.  Bv  Harhd  NLirbois,  Peer  of 
"  I'rance,  &c.  !kc.  ike.  Translateil  from  the  French  by  an  American 
"  Citizen." 

rn  conformity  to  tlie  Act  of  the  Coiig-rcssof  the  United  States,  entitled,  "An 
Act  or  the  Kncoiirai^-ement  of  Learning,  by  securing  the  Copies  of  Maps, 
(harts,  and  Hooks,  to  the  Antliors  and  I'roprietors  of  such  Copies,  durine'  the 
times  therein  ni.  titioned"— Aiul  al.so  to  the  Act,  entitled,  "  An  Act  supple- 
mentary to  an  Act,  entitled,  '  An  Act  for  the  Encouragement  of  Learning,  by 
securing  the  Copies  of  Maps,  Charts,  ami  Ijooks,  to  the  Authors  and  Proprie- 
tors ot  such  Cupi,  s,  during  the  times  therein  mentioned,'  and  extending  the  be- 
nt hts  tlu  reot  to  the  arts  of  designing,  engraving,  and  etching  historical  and 
other  prints."  ° 

1).   CALDUKLL, 

('hr/i  of  the  Eiist(y)i  Ditlrift.  of  Pcnnsvlvania. 


i 


K 

If 

which  I 
less  to  t 
of  justic 
A  freqiK 
der  youi 
he  perm 
auspices 
Xheg 
my  profc 


»;iuii:;s  ^  i>:rKiNSn\,  im;imkiis. 


OKOIXVATICKX. 


he  fiftv. 
).  1830, 


le  right 

i  to  the 
onstitu- 
Peer  of 
nerican 


i,  "An 

"  Maps, 
ing  the 
siipple- 
ing,  by 
'roju-ie- 
tho  be- 
:al  and 


ima. 


TO  ms  KOVAI.  miillNKS.S,  THK  DAII'IIIN. 
Sir, 

If  you  lave  read,  with  some  interest,  tlie  book 
which  I  have  the  honour  to  dedicate  to  you,  I  owe  it 
less  to  the  facts  that  1  have  related  than  to  the  maxims 
of  justice  and  virtue  which  you  have  remarked  in  it. 
A  frequent  witness  of  the  benevolent  actions  that  ren- 
der your  person  so  dear  to  us,  I  have  been  anxious  to 
be  permitted  to  luiblish  my  book  under  your  happy 
auspices. 

X  beg  your  Royal  Highness  to  accept  the  homage  of 
my  profound  and  respectful  devotion. 

BARIIK  M  VKBOrS. 


i  I; 


i 


COXTKNTS. 


4 


ri'anislaior's  Notice.  -  .... 

I'ret'acC; 

Introduction. — Essay  on  the  Constitution  and  (iovcrnment 
of  the  United  States,      -       • 

History  of  Louisianii. — Part  I. — Louisiana  under  the  Sove- 
reignty of  France  and  Spain.— The  relations  of  the  colo- 
ny with  St.  Domingo,     ~ 

History  of  Louisiana — Part  i I. —Cession  of  Louisiana  by 
France  to  the  United  States,  ..... 

History  of  Louisiana.— -Part  HI.— Execution  of  the  Treaty 
of  Cession.— Events  arising  from  the  Cession, 

Appendix,         .       .        .       ,       .       


Ml 


XV 


17 


101 

■h25 

317 
401 


i 

I 


I 


Mo  SI 

tutions 

such  ill 

very  iiia 

rival  in 

placed  i 

ploy  a  f 

iicr  mor 

making 

was  in  h 

in  Kuroj 

specting 

not  be  \\ 

America 

uii  cnlig 

iiouncetl 

The  fi 

In  trod  uc 

vernmeni 

subseque 

into  whi( 

divided, 

the  work 

weiR  to  I 


TUAXSLATOR'S  XOTICE. 


Most  foreign  books  which  have  treated  of  the  insti- 
tutions of  the  United  States  have  been  compiled  with 
such  illiberal  feelings,  and  are  at  the  same  time  so 
very  inaccurate,  that  when,  a  short  time  after  ray  ar- 
rival in  Paris  last  autumn,  the  following  book  was 
placed  in  my  hands,  I  conceived  that  [  could  not  em- 
ploy a  few  weeks'  leisure  more  usefully,  nor  in  a  man- 
ner more  congenial  with  my  former  pursuits  than  by 
I  making  it  generally  accessible  to  my  fellow -citizens.  I 
was  in  hopes  that,  while  the  circulation  of  the  original 
in  Europe  dispelled  many  unfavourable  prejudices  re- 
specting my  nrtivc  country,  my  humble  labours  might 
not  be  without  some  etl'ect  in  attaching  the  people  of 
America  still  more  firmly  to  those  institutions,  on  which 
:in  enlightened  and  distinguished  foreigner  had  pro- 
nounced a  high  encomium. 

The  friendly  spirit  alluded  to  h  not  confined  to  the 
Introductory  Kssay,  which  particularly  (reats  of  the  go- 
vernment, but  will  be  found  to  pervade  the  whole  of  the 
subsequent  >listory.  Even  while  the  politi<"al  parties, 
into  which  the  people  of  the  Tnited  States  were  lately 
divided,  were  doing  every  thing  in  their  power  to  induce 
tlie  world  to  believe  that  on  the  election  of  a  prcfsident 
woi»>  <()  depend   tlio  fuliirc   •Ic'^tinics  of  that  great  and 


I 


k 


I 


Mil 


TRAN.iJ.A  l»)|;  -  NOTU  t. 


'I 


l»vo.sperous  uiitioii;  the  jiuthor,  uj»iimatiiii;  nioro  lavoui- 
Jibly  tin;  nature  of  the  American  iiistitutiuus,  tonti- 
cleatly  stated  that,  "  whatever  might  he  the  result  of 
this  domestic  contest,  tiui  wisdom  of  the  constitution 
Avas  a  guarantee  as  well  for  the  moderation  of  the  ge- 
neral as  for  i]n\  firmness  (»f  liie  magistrate." 

Hut  the  History  of  Louisiana  and  of  its  cession  pos- 
sesses claims  to  attention,  though  of  a  dinVrent  cha- 
racter. It  makes  the  citi;;en  of  the  United  States 
ac(|uai!itcd  with  the  origin  of  his  country's  title  to  a 
territory,  the  importance  of  which,  hcfore  the  lapse  of 
many  ages,  will  he  scarcely  inferior  to  that  of  all  the 
states  of  the  original  confederacy  combined;  and  it  un- 
folds to  the  statesman  a  diplomatic  transaction,  little 
noticed  at  the  time,  which  must  hereafter  exercise  the 
greatest  influence  on  the  general  balance  of  power 
among  the  nations  of  Christendom. 

In  most  of  the  important  events  to  which  he  alludes, 
the  Marquis  dc  Marbois  had  a  direct  participation,  and 
as  few  foreigners  can  be  named,  whose  ofllcial  relations 
have  been  more  beneficial  to  the  United  States  than 
those  of  this  respected  individual,  a  cursory  notice  of 
his  life  may  not  be  unacceptal)le  to  readers  on  the  other 
side  of  the  Atlantic.  In  r'rencli  History  he  has  long 
held  an  important  place. 

Harbe  Marbois  was  born  at  Met/  in  17  15.  He  ear- 
ly entered  the  diplomatic  service,  and  was  aj>pointed  in 
17G9  secretary  of  the  French  legation  to  tiie  diet  of  the 
empire,  wiiich  held  its  siUings  at  Katisbori.  From 
'his  post  he  was,  two  years  afterwords.  Ivau^ferred.  in 


ihc  san 
IJavari.'i 

Oil    l|IMt 

iiitetilioi 

( ording! 

Metz. 

(Irawn  li 

revoliai( 

The  i 

ly  to  es] 

eluded  1 

a  nee.  .in 

money  v 

the   fiinc 

were  at  i 

nary  ca^^ 

the    neir( 

United  .^ 

uig  retii 

bv  the  V 

great  rea 

of  legal i( 

united,  a 

ngent  in 

Vpril,  17 

and  M.  (] 

in  which 

1785  as  1 

he  posse* 

lonls.     \ 


I  I'.  \V»I    \  l.lli   -^    Nil  IK  I'. 


JX 


rrnv- 


tlic  same  diarnrter  to  Drosdcn,  ulioro,  as  well  as  in 
IJavaria,  lie  I'di- some  time  oH'k  i.ilcd  as  char2;e  <rallaires. 
Oil  qiiiuiiis;  t!ie  laUer  ( unit  lie  »^cenis  to  have  had  the 
intention  of  enteiini;  on  another  laieer,  and  he  was  ao 
(()i'dinL;ly  received  as  a  coiinselloi'  of  the  parliament  of 
.Met/,  lint  iVoni  his  new  pnrsnils  he  was  soon  with- 
drawn hy  the  oiler  of  employment  in  America,  whoso 
levolnticMi  then  attracted  universal  attention. 

The  government  of  France,  havini:;  d(  termined  open- 
ly to  espouse  the  cause  of  the  Knu;lish  colonies,  con- 
cluded with  them  in  ITT^*:  treaties  of  amity  and  alii- 
auce.  and  of  commerce.  As  ellicient  aid  in  men  and 
money  was  pnunised  hy  its  ally  to  the  new  republic, 
the  fiincti(nis  of  the  Krench  le!;ation  to  the  congress 
were  at  that  time  far  nn)re  important  than  in  the  ordi- 
nary cases  of  tliplomatlc  rejiresenlalion.  .M.  (ierard, 
the  nei:;otiat(n'  of  the  treaties,  who  was  sent  to  the 
L'nited  Stales  in  177s  as  minister  plenipotentiary.  Iiav- 
in;;'  returned  home  the  followins;  year,  was  succeeded 
hv  the  (Mievalicr  de  la  Ln/erne.  M.  de  Marbois  with 
great  readiness  accepted  the  appointment  of  secretary 
of  lc;^'ation,  with  w  liich  place  that  of  consul  j^eneral  was 
united,  and  It  is  well  known  that  he  was  the  principal 
agent  in  the  important  operations  of  the  embassy,  hi 
.Vpril,  17<S1,  M.  de  la  l-u/erne  took  leave  of  congress, 
and  M.  de  Marbois  was  recognised  as  charge  fl'an'aires, 
ill  which  situation  he  remained  till  his  appointment  in 
1785  as  intendant  of  St.  Domingo,  an  oHicc  ftn*  which 
he  possessed,  in  an  eminent  degree,  the  appropriate  ta- 
IfMils.     While  in  the  Tnited  States,  he  mavriefl  a  lady 


I 


X 


i  H  AN.-,!,  V'lOK  >    \<t  il(  1.. 


II 


(I 

I 

h 

II 


of  IMiiladclpliia,  l)y  whom  lie  liail  a  diuisjlitcr,  now  tlie 
wife  of  the  Duke  of  Plaisaiice,  the  son  of  liU  Hrnn. 
one  of  nona|)arle's  colleagues  in  the  consulaic. 

In  nW)  Aiarhois  letmned  to  France,  and  was  named 
hy  Louis  \\  I.  his  minister  to  the  Diet  at  llatisbon, 
but  vecoived  instructions  to  proceed  first  oa  a  special 
mission  to  the  Kniperor  Leo|)oid.  At  this  time,  though, 
the  kinu;  still  remained  an  integral  part  of  the  constitution, 
the  revolution  had  made  great  progress.  The  princes 
of  the  roya?  Mimily  and  a  large  portion  <d'  the  nobility 
/ad  actually  exiled  themselves,  and  were  preparing  to 
attempt  the  recovery  of  their  privileges  by  force  of  arms. 
VViien  M.  de  Marbois  came  back  to  Paris  from  V  ienna. 
he  found  that  every  thing  indicated  the  near  approach 
of  those  bloody  scenes  wldch  disgraced  French  liberty. 
Me  asked  [lermission  to  resign  his  place,  which  was 
granted;  Ihe  king  and  also  t!ie  c(uecu,  at  the  same  time, 
graciously  signifying  that  he  should  be  preserved  for 
better  tir.ies. 

During  the  reign  of  terror  whicl  succeeded,  M.  dc 
iVlarbois's  name  having  been  placed  on  the  list  of  emi- 
grants, he  was  imprisoned,  and  recovered  his  liberty 
only  wi(h  the  fall  of  Robespierre.  Coder  the  consti- 
tution of  the  dire(  tory  he  ngain  engaged  in  public  af- 
fairs. How  far  he  was  from  upholding  that  old  system, 
the  nbuses  of  which  time  had  reiulered  intolerable  to 
an  enlightened  nation,  is  sufliciently  manifest  from  the 
whole  tenor  of  his  writings,  hi  jl'e  council  of  au- 
cients,  to  which  he  was  elected  in  l'V^'^.  he  proved  thai 
however  much  he   mi:;ht   coudemn  the  excesses  of  .he 


I 


rK\N>l.\  10!l  S   NOJK  i;. 


.\l 


rcvolnlioii,  to  wliich  1k'  \v;vs  :i  strnni^or,  his  senlimaiits 
vvcro  tlioso  of  :i  Krcuclimaii.  Hi-  [kimI  a  just  trihuti;  to 
the  merit  of  the  ainiy  of  Italy,  and  of  its  iUustrious 
chief,  at  the  same  time  that  he  attacked,  without  suc- 
cess, the  law  whicii  excluded  from  the  public  service 
nol)les  and  the  families  of  cmiiijrants. 

iu  1797,  wheu  the  contest  took  place  between  a  ma- 
jority of  the  directory  and  the  lej^-islature,  M.  de  Mav- 
bois  was  president  of  the  council  of  ancients,  and  had 
a  irrcat  share  iu  the  nomination  of  M.  I?arthelemv  as 
one  of  the  directory-  A  powerful  faction  having  pre- 
Vttiled  by  a  revolutionary  movement,  IJarthelemy  and 
Carnot,  two  of  the  directory,  as  well  as  several  mem- 
bers of  both  the  legislative  councils,  Averc  subjected  t(> 
a  species  of  ostracism.  In  this  num!)er  M.  de  Mar- 
bois  was  included;  he  was  transported,  under  circum- 
stances of  peculiar  aggravation,  to  the  pestilential  re- 
gions of  Sinnamavi  in  (ir.iana.  Ue  remained  there  iu 
exile  till  i(SOO,  when  he  was  recalled  by  the  directory 
to  the  inhospitable  island  of  Oleron,  and  sooti  after  Ho- 
naparte.  becoming  iirst  consul,  annulled  the  unjust  sen- 
tence against  him  and  his  companions  in  misfortune. 

On  M.  de  Marbois'S  restoration  to  his  <;ountry,  he 
was  made  a  counsellor  of  state  and  director  of  the  pub- 
lic treasury.  The  latter  office  was  changed  in  IfsOl  to 
that  of  minister  of  the  ])ublic  treasury,  when  he  be- 
came a  member  of  the  cabinet.  While  in  this  situa- 
tion, the  negotiations  with  the  United  States  for  the  ces- 
sjou  of  Louisiana,  which  gave  rise  to  the  present  Work, 


ll 


I  ■i^ 


m 


Xil 


TRANS'. ATOK  S  .VOTH  F!. 


il 


P 


-wei'c  confided  to  liini  as  (he  plenipotentiary  on  the  part 
of  the  Frencli  repnblic. 

In  1805,  he  re(;eived  from  Napoleon  several  honora- 
ry «llstinctions:  hut  heinii;  aver.^c  to  a  system,  which 
substituted  for  the  usual  sources  of  reven.  e  extraordi- 
nary contributions  from  all  the  neighbourini^  states,  the 
conse(|uenccs  of  which  Marbois  foresaAV  must  ultimate- 
ly he  a  general  coalition  of  Europe  against  h'rance,  he 
resigned  the  ministry  of  the  treasury  in  1806,  and  re- 
tired to  tiie  country.  Jle  was,  liowcver,  recalled  to  Pa- 
ris, two  years  afterwards,  to  fill  the  office  of  first  pre- 
sident of  the  court  of  accounts — the  tribunal  which  has 
jurisdiction  in  all  cases  affecting  the  public  receipts  and 
expenditures.^  In  1813,  he  was  made  a  senator  of  the 
empire. 

On  the  restoration  of  the  Hourbons  in  i8ll,  the  king 
created  M.  dc  Marbois  a  peer,  and  he  was  confirmed 
in  the  presidency  of  tiic  court  of  accounts.  Having 
been  exiled  by  Napoleon,  during  the  hundred  days,  he 
was  on  the  return  of  liouis  Will,  named  minister, 
secretary  of  state,  and  keeper  of  the  seals;  but  he  soon 
after  resigned  this  otficc  to  resume  his  former  place  in 
the  court  of  accounts,  the  duties  of  which,  though  now 
eighty -four  years  of  age,  he  still  performs  with  the 
greatest  exactitude.      He  is   also  constant  in   his  at- 

*  All  tlio  Frt'iicli  loiiiis  are  (lividoil  itilo  c!iauiboi«  or  seclioii?. 
each  of  wliidi  Ikis  its  own  president.  'J'lio  i'n>(  president  is  the 
maj^istrate  who  presides  over  the  wliolc  court  uhen  the  several 
chambers  meet  tou;ether  on  important  occasions.  Tiie  pidjlic  ac- 
rounts  arc  setUod  bv  judicial  forms. 


lendanc 

in  most 

ing  of  I 

mission 

all  insti 

the  con 

gages  ^^ 

merous 

ed  to  be 

sion  of 

Tiie 

his  findi 

ting  the 

on  the  I 

varia,  h 

Finance 

linglish 

of  Arnc 

United  i 

ral   spir 

soon  aft( 

scholar. 

Accur 

it  is  not 

lowing  \ 

rected  fr 

observat: 

to  the  Ai 

accompa; 

>he  App( 


TKANS!.\  rOH  S  NOTH  K 


Xill 


uMuIance  in  the  house  of  peers,  wlicie  he  takes  part 
in  most  of  the  important  |»ro(ee(liiii:;s:  and.  at  the  open- 
ing; of  the  present  session,  he  >vas  named  on  the  tora- 
mission  to  whom  the  kinii;*s  speech  was  referred.  In 
all  institutions  haviuij;  for  their  olijecl  the  melioration  of 
the  condition  of  his  feWow  heiui^s,  M.  de  Marhois  en- 
i^ai^es  witii  deep  interest,  and,  notwithstandiui;  his  nu- 
merous engagements,  he  has  within  a  few  days  consent- 
ed to  be  a  memher  of  a  council  formed  for  the  suppres- 
sion of  mendicity. 

The  lahours  of  M.  de  Marhois  Iia\e  not  prevented 
his  finding  leisure  for  literary  pursuits,  liesides  wri- 
ting the  Introduction  to  the  Count  de  (»oerl^'s  Memoir 
on  the  Negotiations  of  177S  for  the  Succession  of  lia- 
varia,  he  is  the  auliior  of  several  works  on  Morals  and 
Finance,  and  of  some  translations  from  (lerman  and 
liinglish.  lie  likewise  published,  in  fHlG.  an  account 
of  Arnold's  conspiracy,  preceded  by  an  essay  on  the 
United  States,  w  hich  is  cliaracteri/ed  by  tlie  same  libe- 
ral spirit  as  the  present  Treatise.  It  was  translated 
soon  after  its  appearance  by  a  distinguished  American 
scholar.   . 

Accurate  as  is  the  Manjuis  de  M.ubois  in  general, 
it  is  not  improbable  tiial  the  reader  may  find  in  tiie  fol- 
lowing work  errors  of  detail  thai  might  have  been  cor- 
rected from  public  documents,  iiad  they  fallen  under  the 
observation  of  the  venerable  writer.  The  instructions 
to  the  American  plenipotentiaries,  and  their  despatch, 
accom[»anying  the  Louisiana  (reaty,  are  published  in 
>hp.  Apj)endix  i<»  the  prt'^out  ediium.      \  few  notes  have 


XIV 


I  kanmla  rORs  NoiH  ^. 


also  been  inserted,  but  I  h'ive  not  Jelt  myself  at  liberty, 
except  in  a  sinj;le  instance,  to  make  any  comments  on 
tlie  opinions  wiiicli  M.  de  Marbois  lias  tbrmed  respect- 
ing either  the  political  parties  of  the  country  or  the 
prominent  American  statesmen,  to  Avliom  he  has  occa- 
sionally alluded. 

After  these  explanations,  1  will  only  farther  observe 
that  in  submitting  the  History  of  Louisiana  to  my  fel- 
low-citizens in  the  United  States,  I  pretend  to  no  other 
merit,  and  wisii  to  assume  no  other  responsibility  than 
that  of  a  faithful 

TIIANSLATOU. 

'  Paria,  AIui/,  18'3'J. 


iMany 

)ivion,  f 
acquain 
rcer  of 
which  ] 
r:;^  should 
which  I 
have  ha 
ing  neai 
really  al 
of  years 
same  tii 
writing 
cupatioi 
Thct 
since,  c< 
to  rcgrc 
more  at 
faith.  1 
tialion  \ 
light  on 
mil'  the 


4 


PREFACE. 


Many  facts  worthy  of  being  preserved  pass  into  ob- 
livion, from  not  being  recorded  by  those  who  arc  best 
acquainted  witli  them.  A  witness  during  iriy  long  ca- 
reer of  various  important  pubHc  events,  in  some  of 
which  I  took  part,  I  always  intended,  as  soon  as  I 
should  have  leisure,  to  write  an  account  of  those  in 
which  I  was  directly  engaged.  From  year  to  year,  I 
have  liad  rLason  to  think  that  this  moment  was  draw- 
ing near;  though,  whether  I  deceive  myself,  or  am  still 
really  able  to  attend  to  business  and  support  the  weight 
of  years,  I  have  not  yet  rosoled  on  retirement.  At  the 
same  time,  1  have  not  thought  proper  longer  to  delay 
writing  the  History,  which  I  now  publish,  and  this  oc- 
cupation has  been  to  me  a  source  of  relaxation. 

The  treaty,  by  which  Louisiana  was,  twenty-six  years 
since,  ceded  to  the  United  States,  has  lately  given  rise 
to  regrets,  which  have  appeared  to  me  to  merit  the 
more  attention  from  their  being  entertained  in  good 
faith.  I  have  conceived  that  the  history  of  that  nego- 
tiation would  dissipate  some  errors,  and  might  throw 
light  on  the  doubts  which  have  been  suggested  respect- 
ing the  policy  of  the  measure. 


.    :  ,,i^ 


^ 


\V1 


l'KKF\(  K. 


I' 


h 


France  had,  in  1802.  jnst  recovered  Louisiana  bv 
treaty.  (Uit,  slie  had  not  yet  taken  possession,  when 
a  war  broke  out  between  licr  and  Knghmd.  Could  \vc 
liope  to  retain  that  colony?  Admitting  that  it  might 
liavc  been  retained,  and  tliat  it  would,  at  a  future  dav. 
become  useful  to  the  mother  country,  did  it  offer  sufli- 
cicnt  advantages  to  indemnity  us  for  the  expense  of  its 
settlement  and  defence?  As  an  independent  state,  will 
it  not  make  more  rapid  progress  than  if  it  were  sub- 
jected to  the  laws  of  monopoly?  Will  not  its  con- 
?;tantly  improving  condition  be  more  advantageous  to 
our  commerce  thaw  its  possession  and  exclusive  go- 
vernment would  have  been?  Already,  the  doubts  are. 
in  part,  removed. 

f  have  put  in  order  some  materials,  which  1  long 

since  prepared  for  this  narrative.  The  circumstances 
respecting  the  cession  of  Louisiana  were  not,  at  all. 
known  in  France,  where  even  the  treaties  have  never 
yet  been  authentically  published;  but  it  is  in  the  great 
collection  of  the  diplomatic  transactions  of  the  United 
States  that  the  principal  documents  arc  to  be  found. 
It  will,  pcrhai)s,  be  observed  that  the  object  of  the  ne- 
gotiation was  not  to  put  an  end  to  a  war;  that  it  was 
not  accompanied  by  any  remarkable  incident,  and  that 
it  was  prom{)tIy  terminated.  It  may  then  well  excite 
surprise  that  it  should  furnish  matter  for  a  large  vo- 
lume, whilsi  so  many  other  treaties,  concluded  after 
many  conmiunications  and  long  conferences,  only  oc- 
cupy a  few  j)agC3  in  history.  !">ut  most  of  these  trea- 
ties have  been  so  badiv  observed,  and  their  influence 


has  beci 
without 
of  socio 
the  cessi 
tajit  pos 
come,  b 
i^uropc 
crowned 
armies,  ; 
gloriousl 
the  wiio 
caused  il 
uHce  of 
morality. 

This! 
many  go 
duces, 
day,  into 
They  arc 
late  of  m 
(letads  w 
lievo  thai 
sufficient 
lume.  I 
of  shedd 
joicc  tha 

[  have 
Literatui 
had  con 
consolati 


I'IIF.FA(  K. 


-Wli 


long 


lias  been  so  iransitory,  that  tliey  may  be  i'orgottcn 
without  much  allbctinir  the  instruction  or  the  interests 

'M  oi'  society.  On  the  otlier  hand,  tlic  consequences  of 
the  cession  of  I.ouisiana  will  extend  to  the  most  dis- 
tant posterity.  It  interests  vast  regions  tliat  will  be- 
come, by  tlieir  civilization  and  power,  the  rivals  of 

'  P.urope  before  another  century  commences.  It  lias 
crowned  the  important  work  to  which  Louis  XVI.,  his 
armies,  and  the  statesmen,  who  composed  his  council, 
gloriously  contributed.  The  great  advantages  which 
the  whole  world  lias  derived  from  that  event  have 
caused  it  to  be  forgotten  that,  at  the  time  of  the  alli- 
ance of  177il.  pohtics  did  not  conform  to  the  laws  of 
morality. 

This  History  is  about  to  appear  in  the  midst  of  the 
many  good  and  bad  books,  which  every  season  j)ro- 
duces.  But  is  there  any  one  which  entering,  at  this 
day,  into  a  library,  dares  to  look  for  a  place  there.'' 
They  uvc  all  occupied.  I  know  not  what  will  be  the 
Ihlc  of  my  book.  If  the  great  historians  find  in  it  some 
details  worthy  of  being  remembsred,  1  beg  them  to  be- 
lieve that  they  arc  true.  Two  of  their  pages  will  be 
sufficient  lor  the  recitals  of  which  I  Jiave  made  a  vo- 
lume. If  some  of  the  maxims  have  the  happy  efiect 
of  shedding  a  new  lustre  on  public  virtues,  I  shall  re- 
joice that  I  Iiavc  had  an  opportunity  of  writing  them. 

I  have  had  my  share  in  the  calamities  of  our  times. 
Literature  and  study,  which,  m  tranquil  circumstances, 
liad  contributed  to  my  happiness,  were  my  principal 
consolation  in  adversity.     They  have  inspired  in  me 


1 


will 


I'JUlFAf  F.. 


an  attaclmicnt  lor  liberty,  regulated  by  wise  laws. 
They  aided  me  to  support  with  courage  an  unjust  and 
rigorous  captivity.  I  may,  perliaps,  be  permitted  to 
add,  that  in  every  situation  of  my  life,  whether  prospe- 
rous or  adverse,  I  have  always  believed  it  to  be  my 
duty  to  render  my  labours  useful  to  my  country.  May 
those  who  read  the  recital  on  which  I  am  entering,  re- 
cognise in  the  sketch  that  I  have  traced  of  the  institu- 
tions of  the  United  States,  my  attachment  for  those  ol 
France,  and  my  firm  persuasion  that  our  happiness  iy 
closely  connected  with  the  faithful  observance  of  oui 
new  laws. 


IJVTRODITCTIOJIV. 


ESSAY  ON   THE  CtWSTlTUTIOxV  AND  GOVEHNMENT  OF  THE 
UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA. 


4 


KSSAV 


try 


Ihe 
antiquit 
Their  1 
and  coi 
versed 
gated  v\ 

No  f; 
of  mod( 
the  Egc 
first  per 
acts  of 
barous, 
do  in  wh 
them  du 

Thes< 
serted  ii 
which, 
their  ful 
and  sooi 


IXTRODUCT  ION. 


i:SSAY  ON    llIK  (  ONSrnr-KON  and  «.tlVKUNMENr  <»F    riiK 
I'MTKl)  J^IAIKS  Ol-   \MKI{|(  A. 


The  origin  of  the  greatest  part  of  the  nations  of 
antiquity  was  attended  with  extraordinary  occurrences. 
Their  legislators  proclaimed  themselves  the  organs 
and  confidants  of  gods  and  goddesses.  They  con- 
versed with  them,  and  the  laws  which  they  promul- 
gated were  dictated  by  a  mysterious  power. 

No  fable  is  connected  with  tlic  primitive  legislation 
of  modern  colonies.  A  benevolence  truly  divine  was 
the  Egeria  of  William  Penn.  If,  from  the  history  of  the 
first  period  of  the  English  settlements,  we  efface  some 
acts  of  fanaticism,  and  of  an  intolerance  always  bar- 
barous, often  hypocritical,  we  shall  find  that  the  wis- 
dom which  presided  at  their  infancy,  never  abandoned 
them  during  the  most  violent  storms  of  their  revolution. 

These  colonies,  without  viokting  their  charters,  in- 
serted in  their  rising  institutions  a  principle  of  liberty, 
which,  from  their  very  cradle,  prepared  the  way  for 
their  future  emancipation.  Better  constituted,  freer 
and  sooner  peopled  than  the  colonies  of  other  nations, 


M' 


i| 


m 
IN 


in 


IM  KOIM  (  TI()\. 


i 


iftiicyliati  fewer  motives  for  se|)arating  from  tlicir  mo- 
tlier  country,  tlicy  were  also  better  prepared  for  inde- 
pendence. 'J'lieir  settlement  oidy  dates  back  a  century 
and  a  half;  but  tiieir  prof^a-ess  lias  been  very  rapid,  and 
wo  will  set  out  from  their  earliest  epoch,  in  order  to 
recall  some  circumstances  connected  with  their  origin, 
and  [)resent  their  princij)al  results. 

The  discovery  of  America  has  iiad,  durin^;  three 
hundred  years,  a  great  intlucncc  on  the  destinies  of 
the  old  world.  The  independence  of  the  United  States 
will  produce  conse<iucnces  still  more  important:  it  is. 
as  it  were,  a  second  discovery.  An  irresistible  impulse 
is  given  to  all  civilized  countries.  The  liberty  of  the 
Sj)anish  kingdoms  in  America  has  been  probably  ad- 
vanced by  it  a  century.  Tiiis  great  event,  which  Co- 
lumbus was  far  from  foreseeing,  is  the  most  glorious 
result  of  his  bold  labours.  Europe  already  participates 
in  tiiesc  liappy  changes.  Some  centuries  will  elapse 
before  an  end  is  put  to  despotism  and  slavery  in  Asia 
and  Africa,  but  our  posterity  will  witness  even  this 
other  astonishing  event. 

It  was  not  the  wisdom  and  policy  of  the  govern- 
ments of  Hurope,  but  religious  persecution  and  the 
vices  of  large  towns,  that  peopled  and  cultivated  Ame- 
rica. These  remote  settlements  offered  to  European 
rulers  the  means  of  freeing  themselves  from  religious 
dissenters  as  well  as  from  vagabonds,  libertines,  and 
convicts.  The  latter  description  of  persons  were  sent, 
at  first,  in  very  snjall  numbers,  and  it  was  only  towards 
the  middle  of  the  last  centiu'y  that  transportation  for 


INTtloni  (I  ION. 


I!» 


crimes  was  carried  to  a  j^rcat  extent.  Sixty  years  ago, 
rranllin,  in  emmieratiiii;  the  j^^ievaiices  of  the  colo- 
nies, said  to  the  Knghsh :  ••  An  act  ol"  parhaineiit  lias 
authorized  you  to  do  us,  by  em|)tyin;jj  the  contents  of 
your  prisons  into  our  cities,  tlie  greatest  injury  that  can 
be  inthcted  on  a  people."  This  was  the  universal  sys- 
tem of  the  maritime  i)Ouers.  It  was  without  any  de- 
sign on  the  part  of  the  statesmen  of  those  days  that  the 
agricultiual  colonies  have  become  the  honour  and  hap- 
piness of  the  human  race.  It  was  the  Catholics,  the 
Puritans,  the  Huguenots,  the  Calvinists,  and  the  Qua- 
kers who  contributed  most  ed'ectually  to  i)revent  the 
evils  which  would  have  resulted  from  the  presence  of 
criminals  condemned  to  banishment.  These  sectaries 
brought  to  America  frugal  and  austere  habits,  and  they 
were  all  either  well  educated  or  conversant  with  some 
branch  of  industry. 

l?ut  these  unfortunate  settlers  were  in  many  of  the 
provinces,  exposed  to  new  persecutions.  Some  of  them 
were  cruelly  treated,  and  the  prevailing  sects  obliged 
the  more  feeble  to  seek  elsewhere  a  new  asylum.  It 
may  be  observed  that  the  colony  of  Maryland,  which 
had  been  the  refuge  of  the  Catholics,  was  the  most  to- 
lerant ;  it  was  successively  peopled  by  dissenters,  pro- 
fessing different  tenets  and  escaping  from  the  place  of 
their  first  voluntary  exile. 

In  the  vear  I C62,  Connecticut  received  from  Charles 
II.  a  constitution  which  bound  it  but  slightly  to  the  mo- 
ther country,  and  was  iranicd  with  sucli  wisdom,  that 
the  only  chanirc  which  it  underwent  at  the  Revolution. 


f  } 


!1  U 


' 


20 


IMUODICTION. 


! 


\\r 


was  the  substitution  of  the  name  of  state  for  that  of 
king. 

In  1818  this  state  gave  itself  a  new  constitution,  the 
articles  of  which  differ  very  little  from  those  of  its 
charter.  The  charter  which  Charles  II.  granted  to 
Rhode  Island,  is  dated  at  the  same  period  with  that  of 
Connecticut.  The  people  have  found  in  it  sufficient 
guarantees  and  have  not  been  disposed  to  make  in  it 
the  least  alteration. 

Locke,  who  wa?  employed  to  prepare  a  charter  for 
Carolina,  did  not  succeed  so  well:  he  introduced  in  it 
seignors,  barons,  landgraves,  cassiques,  and  r^ilatines. 
This  charter  and  all  those  which  were  drawn  up  by 
the  counsellors  of  the  crown  underwent  great  changes 
to  suit  the  views  of  the  colonists.  The  governors 
could  no  where  prevent  the  formation  of  those  assem- 
blies of  delegates,  which  constitute  the  strongest  as 
well  as  the  most  eftectual  restraint  on  abuses. 

The  colonists  had,  from  the  earliest  times,  frequent 
quarrels  with  their  mother  country,  and  projects  of  se- 
paration appeared  long  beibre  the  Declaration  of  In- 
dependence. This  disposition  will  seem  the  less  sur- 
prising, when  it  is  remembered  that  the  most  numerous 
portion  of  the  inhabitants  of  some  of  the  provinces 
were  not  of  English  origin ;  and  that  all  of  them,  from 
whatever  nation  they  came,  had  fled  from  persecution, 
and  preferred  liberty  among  savages  to  oppression  in  a 
civilized  country.  The  Dutch  emigrants  had  brought 
into  the  colony  of  New  York  sobriety,  industry,  useful 
rules  of  economy,  and  an  inclination  tor  trade.    A  low 


Swedes 
ral  habit 
A  great 
and  Irisl 
pled  Soi 
French  f 
to  settle 
lerance 
of  Fran( 
sincere  t 
l-iouis  X 
The  p 
as  free  n 
same  civ 
tions  on 
kinds  of 
could  su; 
also,  as  z 
formed  ii 
liom  the 
plained  i 
very  late 
this  doci 
planters 
there;  w 
their  wai 
land,  ant 
})Oudenc< 
of  the  en 
"^lune  int 


ill 


INTRODUCTION. 


21 


Suedes  oi"  upright  cliaractcr,  and  of  religious  and  mo- 
ral habits  were  spread  over  Nov.  Jersey  and  Delaware. 
A  great  part  of  Pennsylvania  was  settled  by  Germans 
and  Irish.  The  revocation  of  the  edict  of  Nantes  peo- 
pled South  Carolina  with  many  industrious  and  rich 
French  families:  these  unfortunate  refugees  had  wished 
to  settle  in  Louisiana,  but  were  excluded  by  the  into- 
lerance and  bigotry  which  then  governed  the  councils 
of  France.  The  historians  of  America  render  their 
.sincere  thanks  for  this  persecution  to  the  ministers  of 
Louis  XIV. 

The  planters  and  inhabitants  of  the  English  colonies, 
as  free  as  the  English  themselves,  and  enjoying  the 
f^ame  civil  rights,  were  subjected  to  very  ocvere  restric- 
tions on  their  trade  and  navigation,  as  well  as  on  all 
kinds  of  manufactures,  with  which  the  mother  country 
could  supply  them.  The  British  government  held  it, 
also,  as  a  maxim,  not  to  sufler  any  settlements  to  be 
formed  in  the  interior  of  the  country  or  at  a  distance 
fi'om  the  coast.  The  motives  for  this  policy  arc  ex- 
plained in  a  Report,  which  was  only  made  public  at  a 
very  late  period.  '•  The  territories  of  the  West,"  says 
this  document,  »'  arc  fertile,  the  climate  is  temperate, 
planters  would  meet  with  but  few  obstacles  in  settling 
there;  with  little  labour  they  would  be  able  to  satisfy 
their  wants;  they  would  have  nothing  to  ask  of  Eng- 
land, and  no  returns  to  oflcr  her."  When  the  corres- 
pondence of  some  of  the  governors  and  other  officers 
of  the  crown  was  published,  it  was  found  to  evince  the 
"^ame  intention  of  not  favouring  the  mdustry  of  the  co- 


'\i 


I 


•>9 


INTIIODUCTIOX. 


lonists,  and  tlic  same  fear  that  tlicir  independence  might 
be  the  result  of  a  less  exclusive  system. 

It  cannot,  however,  be  said  that  the  English  colonics 
were  tyrannically  governed.  No  colonies  in  the  world 
have  enjoyed  so  many  privileges ;  and  if  the  general 
government  of  the  United  States  can  exercise  over 
them  an  authority  more  extensive  and  less  contested 
than  t'ije  kings  of  England  ever  possessed,  it  is  be- 
cause there  is  in  the  nature  of  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment a  tendency  to  impose  limits  on  itself.  The  Eng- 
lish governors  only  sought  to  extend  their  powers; — 
congress  attentively  confines  itself  within  its  proper 
sphere. 

Every  thing  was  ripe  for  a  revolution ;  the  duties  on 
tea  and  the  stamp  act  w^re  only  a  pretence.  The  vio- 
lent proceedings  of  the  mother  country  taught  the  Ame- 
ricans that  their  liberty  was  in  jeopardy.  The  danger 
aroused  all  those  to  whom  this  libei'ty  was  dear;  and 
when  it  is  recollected  with  what  ardour  they  sacrificed 
their  repose,  their  lives,  and  their  fortunes,  it  must  be 
acknowledged  that  the  fear  of  losing  an  inestimable 
good  could  alone  have  inspired  so  nmch  courage  and 
devotion. 

They  addressed  themselves,  at  first,  to  their  sove- 
reign, not  with  their  knees  on  the  ground  and  quire- 
full  of  mournful  complaints  in  their  hands;  but  then 
stated  their  grievances  with  calm  and  respectful  firm- 
ness. As  its  only  reply,  the  British  government  at- 
tempted to  punish  them  as  mutineers  and  rebels.  Thc\ 
then  publijrhed  that  Declaration  of  Independence  whi 


CI! 


we  now 
t  ing  in  it 
of  the  t 
brated  \ 
without 

Their 
conded 
the  cour 
ported  t 

The  c 
pcndenc 
along  by 
by  the  d 
importaii 
some  of 
manded 
the  devc! 
were  the 
by  prince 
long  com 
nions  hac 
few  years 
opposite 
The  A 
the  armi( 
dable  sue 
If  reform 
by  ages  v 
order  oft 
to  procce 


JNTRODCCTION. 


23 


we  now  road,  attcr  a  lapse  of  fifty  years,  without  find- 
in<^  in  it  a  sing  c  word  to  censure.  The  anniversary 
of  the  day,  on  which  it  was  pubHshed,  is  always  cele- 
brated with  those  fresh  manifestations  of  joy  which  all. 
without  exception,  feel  at  the  bottom  of  their  hearts. 

Their  undertaking,  when  it  was  announced,  was  se- 
conded by  the  good  wishes  of  all  Lurope,  and,  even  in 
the  councils  of  Great  Britain,  a  numerous  party  suo- 
ported  their  efforts. 

The  cabinet  of  Versailles  acknowledijed  their  inde- 
pcndence,  in  doing  which  it  was  perhaps  as  much  drawn 
along  by  the  movement  of  public  opinion  as  determined 
by  the  deliberations  that  preceded  the  alliance.  This 
important  resolution  has  since  been  censured,  even  by 
some  of  those  who  had  strenuously  advised  and  de- 
manded it.  It  is  very  true,  that  it  hastened  in  Europe 
the  development  of  the  principles  of  freedom,  which 
were  then  springing  up  on  all  sides,  and  were  favoured 
by  princes  themselves.  But  this  unanimity  was  not  of 
long  continuaiice:  in  France,  even,  where  liberal  opi- 
nions had  been  received  with  the  most  enthusiasm,  a 
few  years  sufficed  to  produce  a  violent  explosion  of  an 
opposite  character. 

The  American  insurrection  had  only  to  contend  with 
the  armies  sent  from  Kngland:  forces  still  more  formi- 
dable suddenly  threatened  the  rising  liberty  of  France. 
If  reforms  had  become  necessary,  abuses  consecrated 
by  ages  were  almost  inseparable  from  the  established 
order  of  things.  The  refoimers  made  some  vain  efforts 
to  proceed  with  prudence  and  deliberation;  but,  carried 


^*i 


I 


21 


IXTRODUCTION. 


away  by  the  violence  of  parties,  their  acts  soon  bore 
the  marks  of  injustice.  Furious  excesses  justified  the 
resistance  of  the  clergy  and  nobility.  This  terrible 
struggle  was  followed  by  deplorable  catastrophies.  At 
thio  day,  instead  of  acknowledging  their  true  causes, 
some  attribute  to  the  American  revolution  the  disasters 
and  crimes  of  our  own.  They  raise  doubts  respecting 
the  wisdom  of  the  ministers  of  Louis  XVI.;  and  go  so 
far  as  to  assert  that  that  prince,  instead  of  succouring 
the  Americans  by  his  arms  and  the  treasures  of  France 
ought  to  have  united  the  French  troops  to  the  Hano- 
verians and  Hessians,  in  order  to  bring  back  the  re- 
bellious subjects  to  their  allegiance.  Perhaps  the  in- 
tervention of  France  in  this  great  quarrel  was  not  siil- 
ficiently  justified  either  by  imminent  dangers  or  by  those 
rules  of  justice  which  states  should  never  violate.  1  even 
hardly  dare  to  look  for  a  justification  of  the  part  whicli 
was  then  taken  in  those  maxims  of  precautionary  poli- 
cy, which  it  is  so  easy  to  bend  to  all  circumstances 
There  is  no  doubt  that  Louis  XVL,  by  allying  himscll 
with  the  United  States,  really  advanced  the  emancipa- 
tion of  the  English  colonies.  But,  had  France  re- 
mained neutral,  the  independence  of  the  United  States 
would  only  have  been  retarded  a  few  years.  We  ma} 
apply  to  modern  colonies  what  has  happened  to  all 
those  of  antiquity.  Whatever  may  be  the  power  of  tin 
parent  state,  its  colonies  are  free  as  soon  as  they  arc 
sensible  of  their  own  strength.  In  vain  would  the  mo- 
ther country  attempt  to  prolong  their  subjection  by  ar  i 
resting  their  progress  iu  every  way,  introducing  disscri- 


IN  TRODLfTION. 


25 


sion  among  the  (Jiffcrcnt  classes  of  iiiliabitants,  discou- 
raging industry,  and  substituting  constraint  to  afiection, 
prejudices  to  reason.  8ucli  clVorts  would  only  serve  to 
render  these  estabhshnients  burdensome  rather  than 
profitable,  to  engender  the  most  i)rofound  hatred,  to 
incline  the  people  with  more  certainty  to  revolt,  and  to 
render  an  insurrection,  by  its  being  longer  delayed, 
more  terrible  and  destructive. 

A  glorious  justificatio'i  of  the  revolution,  and  of  the 
assistance  wiiich  France  aflbrded  to  it,  is  to  be  found 
in  the  advantages  that  have  resulted  from  it  to  society 
in  general,  and  even  to  England.  It  depends  on  the 
Americans  to  justify  it  still  further  by  the  wisdom  of 
their  conduct. 

Among  the  civil  chiefs  whom  this  people  selected 
to  govern  them,  after  the  declaration  of  their  indepen- 
dence, among  those  to  whom  they  confided  the  com- 
mand of  their  armies.  Arnold  alone  was  misled  by  am- 
bition and  avarice;  no  other  person  in  office  took  ad- 
vantage of  the  public  distresses  to  elevate  himself  or 
increase  his  fortune.  The  virtues  necessary  to  the 
foundation  and  preservation  of  states,  boldness  in  ac- 
tion, moderation  in  success,  constancy  in  adversity, 
were  exhibited  without  ostentation  and  without  pomp. 
The  rulers  of  that  period  also  participated  honourably 
in  that  species  of  fame  which  is  acquired  by  arms, 
which  is  acccmpanied  by  the  most  dangers,  and  which 
the  multitude,  therefore,  place  above  all  others. 

Washington  is,  in  the  eyes  of  his  fellow  citizens, 
more  worthy  of  admiration — greater  than  was  ever 


i 


r 


26 


INTllODUfTlON. 


I 


Alexander  or  Ciesar,  in  the  estimation  of  the  Greeks 
and  Romans.  His  natural  moderation  was  such,  that, 
after  havin<r  viuuiuislied  tlic  enemies  of  his  country, 
he  Ijad  not,  hke  so  many  other  men  iilustrious  in  arms, 
to  combat  his  own  ambition.  He  was  dehglited  to  lay 
aside  the  sword,  in  order  to  devote  himself  to  the  care 
of  governing  the  republic,  restored  to  peace.  Deso- 
lation and  ruins  are  the  monuments  of  the  lives  of  con- 
querors, and  mark  their  course  on  earth.  The  happi- 
ness of  mankind  is  the  imperishable  monument  which 
must  recall  to  future  ages  the  name  of  W^ashington; 
and  his  glory,  purer  than  theirs,  surpasses  in  reality  that 
of  those  pretended  sons  of  the  gods.  The  war  once 
ended,  it  was  especially  to  his  civil  virtues  that  the 
Americans  were  delighted  to  render  homage. 

They,  at  this  day,  prize  one  kind  of  glory  above  all 
others, — it  is  that  which  in  peace  is  attached  to  sin- 
cere love  of  country,  and  which,  without  ambitious 
passions,  and,  with  a  sort  of  indifference  for  celebrity, 
exhibits  itself  in  a  modest  desire  to  obtain  the  esteem 
of  the  people. 

Several  of  their  first  magistrates,  among  whom  are 
the  two  Adams*  and  Jeff'erson,t  who  have  seen  the 
republic  flourish,  are  no  more :  they  gave  examples  of 
private  virtues,  after  having  long  exhibited  those  of  a 
public  nature.    Madison  and  Monroe,  who  have  rc- 

*  SainiUil  Adams  and  John  Adams. 

t  J  oil  II  Adams  and  JeHbrso'i  died  on  tlie  4tli  ol"  July,  18::2G,  the 
anniversary  of  the  Declaration  of  Indepoudouce,  mIucU  they  signed 
fifty  years  before. 


turnc<], 
of  pnv 
ncratio 
had  ha 
after  h 
in  their 
good  o 
by  indie 
public 
and  spc 
them  til 
capable 
pursuin, 
are  sure 
dencc. 

I  trac 
ty  of  th 
that  the 
it,  and  i 
observa 

They 
nations 
accomp 
not  alw 
We  thei 
old  abus 
no  oppr< 
of  sects 


INTRODlf  IION. 


27 


turned,  without  autliority.  without  power,  into  the  rank 
of  private  citi/ens,  are  there  followed  with  as  much  ve- 
neration and  aflcction  as  the  king,  wiio,  on  the  tiu'onc, 
liad  hest  merited  the  love  of  his  siihjects.  would  obtain 
after  his  abdication.  Tlie  magistrates,  who  succeed 
in  their  footsteps,  have  no  other  end  in  view  than  the 
good  of  the  republic,  and  this  good  is  made  apparent 
by  indicatiouF?  <;hat  never  deceive:  that  is  to  say,  by  tlic 
public  will, — by  the  opinion  of  all  the  citizens  clearly 
and  spontaneously  expressed.  Experience  has  taught 
them  that  the  people,  left  to  themselves,  arc  the  most 
capable  of  deciding  on  their  true  interests,  and  it  is  by 
pursuing  the  course  which  they  point  out  that  rulers 
are  sure  of  obtaining  general  a[)probation  and  confi- 
dence. 

1  traced,*  some  years  ago,  a  i)icturc  of  the  prosperi- 
ty of  this  people;  but  they  make  such  rapid  advances, 
that  the  scene  chanixes  even  whilst  we  are  observing 
it,  and  in  a  few  years  it  will  be  necessary  to  add  new 
observations  to  those  which  can,  at  this  time,  be  made. 

They  have  already  assumed  a  rank  among  the  old 
nations  of  the  world ;  but  they  have  not,  like  them,  to 
accomplish  the  immense  task  for  which  centuries  do 
not  always  suffice, — the  return  from  error  to  truth. 
We  there  see  no  relics  of  the  usurpation  of  power,  no 
old  abuses  seeking  opportunities  to  resume  their  places, 
no  oppressive  laws  of  former  ages,  no  ambitious  leaders 
of  sects  abusing  their  authority  over  the  consciences 

♦  Preface  to  Ainold'?  Conspiracy,  1816. 


fil 

i| 
if 


■ll 


20  INTRODUCIION. 

of  their  followers,  not  the  slightest  trace  of  that  feudal 
system,  of  whicii  in  Kiiropc  even  the  institutions  of  re- 
publics still  bear  the  stamp,  no  rival  classes  disputing 
for  rights,  which  belong  as  much  to  the  one  party  as 
the  other.  The  concurrence  of  the  interests  of  the 
great  number  has  smoothed  all  obstacles;  it  has  pro- 
tected the  rising  republic  from  those  hateful  acts,  from 
those  vindictive  movements  which,  in  the  revolutions 
of  other  states,  have  successively  disgraced  the  tri- 
umphs of  the  dilferent  parties. 

The  government  of  the  United  States  has  no  model 
cither  in  ancient  or  modern  times.  These  new  socie- 
ties have  not  had,  like  all  those  of  which  history  has 
transmitted  lhv  account,  to  encounter  the  difficulty  of 
proceeding  from  c.\j)eriment  to  experiment,  from  revo- 
lution to  revolution,  in  order  to  discover  the  constitu- 
tions and  systems  of  government  best  calculated  to 
ensure  their  happiness.  They  consulted  experience: 
they  souglit  light  in  the  writings  of  the  many  sages 
who  have  mtditated  on  the  means  of  rendering  man- 
kind happy.  They  did  not  despise  the  theories  which 
prejudice  and  interest  had  so  long  ranked  among  chi- 
meras. They  conformed  their  institutions  to  those  wise 
inspirations,  and  since  their  adoption  no  class  of  citi- 
zens, probably  no  one  citizen,  has  desired  any  changes 
in  the  fundamental  laws,  though  the  forms  have  been 
amehorated,  when  time  has  lod  to  the  discovery  of  de- 
fects. 

It  was  in  the  midst  of  arms  that  these  constitutions 
were  framed,  and  even  the  presence  of  the  enemy  did  not 


permit  t 
in  them, 
The  Am 
advisabl 
comma  I 
by  a  pel 
their  se^ 
who  woi 
in  a  veri 
on  the  c 
and  on  t 
subjectii 
great  dii 
have  rei 
there  wc 
to  resist 
couragei 
have  br 
This  pre 
of  a  stric 
tral  gov< 
left  to  ti 
gulation 
territory 
A  pr< 
there  wj 
because 


wvitmgs 


one  sm 


ment,  d 


■HI 


INTROUUCTIOX. 


29 


permit  the  .I'^journment  of  this  important  work.  \\\  find 
in  them,  liovvcvcr,  all  the  marks  of  mature  reflection. 
The  Americans  examined,  first,  wliether  it  would  not  be 
advisable  that  the  states  should  be  divided  into  thirteen 
connnunities,  free  from  every  federal  tic  and  only  united 
by  a  perpetual  alliance,  which  would  in  no  respect  alter 
their  several  rights  of  independent  sovereignty.  Those 
who  would  have  preferred  so  complete  a  separation  were 
in  a  very  small  minority;  they  founded  their  argument 
on  the  certainty  of  a  great  increase  in  the  population, 
and  on  the  difficulty  of  retaining  by  a  common  tie  and 
subjecting  to  common  laws,  states  separated  by  such 
great  distances.  But  this  form  of  government  would 
have  rendered  the  revolution  imj)racticable,  because 
there  would  not  have  been  any  concert  in  the  eflbrts 
to  resist  England;  and,  though  success  might  have  en- 
couraged some  isolated  efforts,  dissensions  would  soon 
have  broken  out  among  these  numerous  republics. 
This  proposition  was  easily  put  aside.  The  necessity 
of  a  strict,  indissoluble  union,  the  want  of  a  single  cen- 
tral government  were  generally  acknowledged.  It  was 
left  to  time  and  other  circumstances  to  make  such  re- 
gulations as  might  be  expedient,  whcr  the  extension  of 
territory  should  require  the  formation  J  other  states. 
A  proposition  was  advanced,  on  which,  however, 
there  was  no  discussion,  but  which  we  will  mention, 
because  traces  of  it  are  to  be  found  in  some  of  the 
writings  of  the  period.  It  was  proposed  to  have  only 
one  single  republic  and  one  single  supreme  govern- 
ment, directing  from  north  to  south  all  the  intcrncil 


a 


:i() 


iN'TROnUCTION. 


11 


and  lbrci>>n  alFairs  of  this  vast  society,  fn  adopting 
this  form  of  government,  it  vvonid  liavc  been  indispens- 
able not  only  to  renounce  many  articles  of  the  dilferenl 
charters,  which  had  become,  by  long  habit,  dear  to 
the  people,  but  also  to  place  the  autiiority  in  the  hands 
of  an  aristocracy  or  of  a  monarch.  But  an  aristocra- 
cy, whether  hereditary  or  elective,  would  liavc  de- 
stroyed that  equality  which  was  the  fundamental  prin- 
ciple of  the  revolution.  The  Americans  would  have 
had  less  aversion  to  monarchy,  had  not  time  elTaced  in 
their  hearts  every  trace,  however  slight,  of  that  affec- 
tion which  renders  all  things  easy  to  royal  authority; 
moreover,  they  were  not  disposed  to  admit  the  fiction, 
which  reserves  to  the  prince  the  merit  of  all  the  good 
that  is  done,  and  makes  the  ministers  responsible  for 
all  the  evil  that  happens.  Far  from  concluding  from 
this  doctrine  that  the  king  is  a  being  incapable  of  do- 
ing good  or  evil,  they  would  have  feared  that  a  bad 
prince  would  end  by  adopting  the  maxim  himself. 

The  republican  system  of  government  was  chosen 
with  great  unanimity.  All  the  authority  of  the  confe- 
derated states  was  concentrated,  during  the  war,  in  a 
single  assembly;  which  was  the  only  form  of  govern- 
ment that  could  have  suited  them  while  engaged  in  a 
revolution. 

The  common  danger  then  commanded  general  obe- 
dience ;  and  the  power  of  the  enemy  silenced  all  the 
jealousies,  which  that  of  congress  inspired.  It  was 
quite  otherwise  after  the  peace  of  1783;  ambitious 
views  openly  appeared  in  several  of  the  states'.    Some 


of  then 
their  lit 
were  aw 
the  unio 
placed  n 
trigucs ; 
would  b 
to  enum 
would, 
liad  its  t: 
the  con 
plished 
Iiave,  at 
attcntioi 
nal  or  i 
matters 
has  soni' 

Thee 
acts  of  t 
same  mi 
facts,  wl 
knowled 
tion  of  1 

A  cor 
certain  i 
as  they 
justice, 
commoi 
cure  th 
})Osterit 


l\TROOi;CJTION. 


:ii 


of  them  would  have  wished  to  have  had  tlicir  army, 
their  httle  navy,  and  tlicir  ambassadors.  Prudent  men 
were  aware  that  if  tlie  federal  knot  were  thus  relaxed, 
the  union  would  soon  be  dissolved,  and  the  rej)ublic 
placed  at  the  mercy  of  internal  cabals  and  Kuropcan  in- 
trigues; that  the  authority  of  the  general  i^ovcrnmcnt 
would  be  in  danger  and  always  insecure,  if  it  continued 
to  emanate  from  that  of  the  several  states,  and  that  it 
would,  on  the  other  hand,  be  complete  and  entire  if  it 
liad  its  source  in  the  individual  vote  of  every  citizen  of 
the  conlederation.  I'liis  great  change  was  accom- 
plished not  without  dilliculty,  but  the  separate  states 
Iiavc,  at  length,  become  accustomed  to  conline  their 
attention  almost  exclusively  to  the  aflairs  of  their  inter- 
nal or  municipal  governments.  They  confide  other 
matters  to  the  wisdom  of  congress,  where  every  state 
has  some  of  its  citizens. 

The  cession  of  Louisiana  has  given  rise  to  several 
acts  of  this  great  body;  the  new  states  obey  it  in  the 
same  manner  as  the  old  ones;  and  to  understand  the 
facts,  which  wc  purpose  narrating,  requires  a  previous 
knowledge  of  the  principal  regulations  of  the  constiui- 
tion  of  the  United  States. 

A  convention,  held  at  Philadelphia  in  1787.  proposed 
certain  articles  to  the  confederated  states,  ••  in  order," 
as  they  said,  "to  form  a  more  perfect  union,  establish 
justice,  ensure  domestic  tranquillity,  provide  for  the 
common  defence,  promote  the  general  welfare,  and  se- 
cure the  blessings  of  liberty  to  themselves  and  their 
posterity." 


m 


VI 


INTRODUCTION. 


This  constitution  was  adopted  on  tlic  17th  of  Sep. 
tcmbcr,  17H7.  A  conf,'rcss  composed  of  a  senate  and 
house  of  representatives  exercises  such  le<^islativc 
power,  as  was  dclc<^atcd  to  it  by  the  constitution. 

Tlie  representatives  must  have  attained  the  age  of 
twenty-five  years,  and  have  been  seven  years  citizens; 
they  must,  also,  be  inhabitants  of  the  states  in  which 
they  are  chosen.  Their  term  of  service  is  for  two 
years.  Then  can  only  be  one  representative  for  fort\ 
thousand  free  persons,  calculating  in  this  number  of 
forty  thousand,  five  slaves  as  three  free  men,  or  ()6,()()(i 
blacks  as  l(),()()()  whites.  This  proportion  may,  howe- 
ver, be  changed  after  a  new  census.  Hy  the  constitu- 
tion the  number  of  representatives  cannot  exceed  one 
for  every  thirty  thousand  inhabitants;  but  each  state 
must  have,  at  least,  one  representative. 

Kvery  state  sends  two  senators.  They  arc  elected 
for  six  years ;  they  must  have  attained  the  age  of  thir- 
ty years;  have  been  citizens  of  the  United  States  for 
nine  years,  and  be  inhabitants  of  the  state  which  elect* 
them.  The  senators  arc  divided  into  classes,  so  tlia' 
one-third  go  out  every  two  years. 

The  house  of  representatives  impeaches  for  state 
crimes.  The  senate  tries  them.  The  concurrence  ol 
two-thirds  of  the  votes  is  required  for  a  conviction,  and 
the  judgment  only  extends  to  disqualification  to  hold 
an  office  under  the  United  States.  But  the  convicted 
party  may  be,  afterwards,  prosecuted  before  the  ordi- 
nary  tribunals,  sentenced  and  punished  according  to 
law. 


Coiiii 
rity  of 
ness. 
own  ni( 
concurr 

'J'hc 
j)(Uisati( 
United  i 
session, 
meeting 

They 
or  debat 

No  sc 
der  the  ; 

The  h 
the  j)resi 
them.  ] 
the  forc< 
on  it  aft( 
tions.  1 
not,  state 

Congr 
loans,  t( 
among  t 
to  coin  ]] 
tribunals 
racy  and 

*  Eight  ( 
repicsentai 
'>y  the  clist 


JNTROmcTIOX. 


33 


Congress  assomblcs  at  least  once  a  year.  A  majo- 
rity of  each  liousc  constitutes  a  <inorjim  to  do  busi- 
ness. Kach  house  makes  its  own  rules,  punishes  its 
own  members  lor  disorderly  behaviour,  and,  with  the 
concurrence  of  two-thirds,  may  expel  a  mend)er. 

'IMie  senators  and  representatives  receive  a  com- 
j)ensation,  which  is  paid  out  of  the  treasury  of  tlie 
('nited  States.*  They  cannot  be  arrested  during  the 
session,  nor  in  jj^oing  to  or  returning  Irom  the  place  of 


mecluig. 


They  cannot  be  (picstioned  elsewhere  for  any  speech 
or  debate  in  either  house. 

No  senator  or  representative  can  hold  any  oflice  un- 
der the  authority  of  the  United  States. 

The  bills  passed  in  the  two  houses  arc  presented  to 
the  president,  and  become  laws  when  he  has  approved 
them.  He  can  refuse  his  assent;  but  the  bill  acquires 
the  force  of  a  law,  if  two-thirds  of  each  house  insist 
on  it  after  the  president  has  returned  it  with  his  objec- 
tions. This  is  likewise  the  case,  if  the  president  does 
not  state  his  objections  within  ten  days. 

Congress  has  power  to  impose  taxes,  to  contract 
loans,  to  regulate  commerce  with  foreign  nations, 
among  the  several  states,  and  with  the  Indian  tribes, 
to  coin  money  and  establish  post  otfices,  to  constitute 
tribunals  inferior  to  the  Supreme  Court,  and  punish  pi- 
racy and  oftcnces  against  the  law  of  nations,  to  de- 

*  Vjight  dollars  a  day,  or  forty-two  francs  for  each  senator  and 
ri'proscutativc.  The  allowance  for  travelling  expenses  is  regulated 
'jy  the  distance,  and  is  eight  dollars  for  every  twenty  miles. 


hi 


Jil 


u 


KNTUODl  (  HON. 


clarc  war,  and  frrant  letters  of  marque  and  reprisal. 
It  is  also  authorized  to  raise  and  support  armies  and 
navies;  but  no  appropriation  lor  tlic  army  can  be  made 
lor  a  longer  term  than  two  years.  It  may  call  out  the 
militia  to  execute  the  laws  of  the  Union  and  repel  in- 
vasions. 

No  money  can  be  drawn  from  the  treasury,  except 
by  virtue  of  a  law,  and  statements  of  the  receipts  and 
expenditures  are  made  public. 

The  presidents  of  the  United  States  never  omit, 
when  they  enter  on  their  duties,  to  proclaim  the  prin- 
ciples which  they  purpose  following.  The  forms  of 
expression  may  be  different,  but  the  essential  part  ol 
the  declaration  always  consists  in  an  engagement  to 
be  equally  just  towards  all,  without  distinction  of  reli- 
gious or  political  principles.  Peace,  commerce,  and 
friendship  with  all  nations,  render  useless,  in  their  opi- 
nion, treaties  of  alliance,  which  they,  moreover,  consi- 
der at  variance  with  true  independence.  They  engage 
to  maintain  the  authority  of  the  general  government  in 
its  constitutional  vigour,  as  the  best  guarantee  of  tran- 
quillity at  home  and  peace  abroad,  and  to  support  the 
state  governments  in  all  their  riglits. 

'J'liey  recommend  to  the  people  to  be  attentive  tu 
the  privileges  of  the  elective  franchise,  to  be  obedient 
to  the  decisions  of  the  majority,  and  to  support  the  su- 
premacy of  the  civil  over  the  military  authority.  They 
promise  to  carry  on  the  administration  with  economy, 
to  preserve  the  public  faith  untouched,  to  encourage 
agriculture  and  commerce,  its  principal  agent;  am 


finally.  1 
citizens 
and  the 

The 
come  a 
fringe  o 
tion  of 
son,  on 
States  o 
dcr  to  k 
name,  h 
with  the 
country' 
and  hist 
respond* 
self 

The  : 
States  ai 
every  sU 
tors  nor 
,  lice  of  p 
No  pers 
least  thi 
17th  of 
This  mi 
and  nav; 
they  are 
He  iijran 
against  l 
1.        mcnt.    f 


INIRUDI  I  T1(».N. 


35 


and. 


finally,  to  watch  attentively  over  the  education  ol'  the 
citizens,  tlie  iVec  exercise  of  reliufion,  personal  liberty, 
and  the  independence  ot  the  j)ress. 

The  expectations  which  these  speeches  allbrci  !)c- 
conie  a  contract,  which  is  I'aithhilly  observed.  I'o  in- 
fringe or  elude  it  would  be  to  destroy  the  very  founda- 
tion of  the  government,  which  is  good  faith.  Jelfer- 
son,  on  being  raised  to  the  presidency  of  the  United 
States  on  the  Uh  of  March,  IJU)1,  declared  that  in  or- 
der to  leave  to  his  family  the  legacy  of  an  honoured 
name,  he  nuist  thenceforth  occupy  liimself  exclusively 
with  the  public  business  and  with  the  promotion  of  his 
country's  happiness.  His  presidency  lasted  eight  years, 
and  history  teaches  us  how  wisely  and  successfidly  lie 
responded  to  the  appeal  which  he  liad  made  to  him- 
self 

The  president  and  vice-president  of  the  United 
States  are  named  for  four  years.  They  arc  elected  in 
every  state  by  s|)ecial  electors,  who  arc  neither  sena- 
tors nor  representatives,  and  who  do  not  hold  any  of- 
licc  of  profit  or  trust  luider  the  aulhority  of  congress. 
No  person,  except  a  native  citizen  of  the  age  of  at 
least  thirty-five  years,  or  one  w  ho  was  a  citizen  on  the 
17th  of  September,  1787,  can  be  named  president. 
This  magistrate  is  command(!r-in-chief  of  the  army 
and  navy  oftlie  United  Slates,  and  of  the  militia,  when 
they  are  called  into  the  actual  service  of  the  Union. 
He  grants  reprieves  or  pardons  for  crimes  and  offences 
against  the  United  States.  exce[)t  in  cases  of  impeach- 
uienl.   He  has  power  to  make  treaties,  with  the  advice 


I 


36 


INTRODUCTION. 


and  consent  of  the  senate,  provided  tvvo-tliirds  of  the 
members  present  concur,  lie  names,  by  and  with  the 
advice  and  consent  of  the  senate,  ambassadors,  pubUc 
ministers,  consuls,  and  judges  of  tlic  Supreme  Court. 
He  fills  up  all  the  vacancies  that  may  occur  during  the 
recess  of  the  senate,  by  granting  commissions  which 
expire  at  the  end  of  the  next  session. 

The  presidents  of  congress,  under  the  old  confede- 
ration, had  the  title  of  excellency.  It  is  now  only  em- 
ployed with  reference  to  the  governors  of  states.  This 
emphatic  appellation  is  all  that  remains  in  the  Umted 
States  of  the  forms  of  flattery,  which  European  cour- 
tiers  borrowed  from  the  East,  and  which  their  masters- 
eagerly  adopted. 

The  president  and  vice-president,  and  all  other  civil 
officers  of  the  United  States  may  be  removed  from  of- 
fice on  an  impeachment  for,  and  conviction  of  treason, 
and  other  high  crimes  and  misdemeanors. 

Every  thing  that  is  within  the  scope  of  the  powers 
of  congress  is  forbidden  to  the  separate  states.  They 
cannot,  without  its  conseni,  lay  any  duties  on  in»ports. 
nor  keep  in  time  of  peace  troops  or  vessels  of  war. 
nor  make  agreements  or  compacts  with  one  another, 
or  with  foreign  powers,  nor  engage  in  war,  unless  ac- 
tually invaded  or  in  such  imminent  danger  as  will  not 
admit  of  delay. 

The  privilege  of  habeas  corpus  cannot  be  suspended, 
unless,  when  in  case  of  rebellion  or  invasion,  the  pub- 
lic safety  requires  it. 

There  is  at  Washington  a  power,  whidi  has  noithei 


guards 


INTRODUCTION. 


37 


guards  nor  palaces,  nor  treasures:  it  is  neither  sur- 
rounded by  clerks  nor  overloaded  with  records.  It  has 
for  its  arms  only  truth  and  wisdom.  Its  magnificence 
consists  in  its  justice  and  in  the  publicity  of  its  acts. 
This  power  is  called  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 
States.  It  exercises  the  judicial  authority  in  all  cases 
affecting  the  general  interests  of  the  United  States,  in 
their  relations  with  one  another  and  with  foreign  na- 
tions. The  members  of  this  tribunal  can  only  be  re- 
moved from  office  on  account  of  bad  conduct,  and  al- 
ter a  trial.  Their  permanent  tenure  is  an  additional 
guarantee  of  their  probity  and  of  acquirements,  which 
are  every  year  increased. 

They  have  original  jurisdiction,  where  ambassadors, 
ministers,  and  consuls,  or  states  are  parties.  In  other 
cases,  which  are  generally  those  in  which  foreigners 
are  parties  against  st.atcs  or  citizens,  their  jurisdiction 
is  appellate.  This  court  has  other  functions,  that  al- 
ready alarm  some  friends  of  liberty.  But  what  have 
they  to  fear  from  a  power  whose  justice  constitutes  its 
whole  strength,  which  can,  it  is  true,  reduce  the  other 
powers  to  inaction  by  declaring  that  they  are  proceed- 
ing contrary  to  the  constitution,  but  w  Inch  would  raise 
the  whole  republic  against  it,  if  its  decision  was  not 
clearly  correct.'^ 

The  Americans,  supposing  that  they  might  profit  by 
the  warnings  of  history,  have  multiplied  the  barriers 
against  usurpation  and  the  abuse  of  power.  Their  con- 
stitutions contain  as  many  prohibitory  as  positive  enact- 
ments.    But.  experience  ha:^  proved  that  these  fears 


•11 


;i« 


iMRor>ucTio:>. 


ii^ii 


are  ill-founded.  Their  rulers  arc  more  anxious  to  re- 
strain than  to  extend  their  authority. 

The  confederacy  may  admit  new  states,  and  it  gua- 
ranties to  all  of  them  a  republican  form  of  govern- 
ment. 

The  case  of  changes  in  the  constitution  bccominii 
indispensable  has  been  foreseen.  At  the  same  time, 
provision  has  been  made,  by  prudent  regulations,  to 
prevent  their  being  attempted  without  mature  delibe- 
ration. Amendments  can  only  be  made  on  the  pro- 
position of  two-thirds  of  both  houses  of  congress,  or  by 
a  convention,  called  on  the  application  of  two-thirds 
of  the  states;  and  in  neither  case  can  they  become  ar- 
ticles of  the  constitution  till  they  have  been  ratified  by 
the  legislatures  or  conventions  of  three-fourths  of  the 
several  states. 

Some  amendments  were,  in  fact,  proposed  by  con- 
gress The  most  important  related  to  points,  which 
the  convention  had  so  generally  acknowledged  and 
practised,  that  it  had  deemed  it  useless  to  mention 
them.  Congress  judged  otherwise,  and  limiting  its 
own  power,  proposed  to  insert  in  the  constitution  that 
congress  should  make  no  law  respecting  an  establish- 
ment of  religion,  or  to  prohibit  the  free  exercise  there- 
of, to  abridge  the  freedom  of  speech  or  of  the  press, 
the  right  of  the  people  to  assemble  and  to  petition  go- 
vernment, or  their  right  to  be  secure  in  their  persons, 
liouses,  papers,  and  effects.  These  provisions  were 
adopted  as  parts  of  the  constitution j  but  they  were  in 
full  force  belbre  their  ado|)tion. 


It    IS 

Union  \ 

states,  i 

united  \ 

zen,  the 

which 

avoid. 

possible 

cratical 

to  unite 

tcrritori 

any  of  t 

after  an( 

These  c 

farther  i 

vantage; 

served,  > 

may  hap 

ciplcs  of 

parate  ( 

governm 

people ; 

not  forffi 

Such  i 

United  f 

prevail  t 

rately  c( 

iioni  tha 

throne. 

however. 


iNTRODUCrj  lO^. 


.'J9 


press, 


It  is  necessary  to  consider  all  the  relations  of  the 
Union  with  the  particular  governnnMits  of  the  difl'erent 
states,  in  order  to  und(3rstand  how  this  pcoj)le  have 
united  with  the  civil  and  political  liberty  of  every  citi- 
zen, the  force  and  energy  required  in  those  crises, 
which  even  the  wisest  governments  cannot  always 
avoid.  It  will,  then,  likewise  be  seen  how  it  has  been 
possible  to  adapt  the  forms  of  a  republican  and  demo- 
cratical  government  to  a  country  of  great  extent,  and 
to  unite  successively  to  the  sauie  central  authority  new 
territories  and  new  communities,  which,  w'ithout  losing 
any  of  their  liberty  and  independence,  are  adtlcd  one 
after  another  to  the  Union,  and  increase  its  strength. 
These  communities  will  extend  the  limits  of  the  nation 
farther  and  farther;  but  it  is  not  probable  that  the  ad- 
vantages, of  which  we  have  spoken,  will  then  be  pre- 
served, without  a  separation  of  the  states.  Whatever 
may  happen,  we  have  no  reason  to  fear  that  the  prin- 
ciples of  liberty  will  be  at  ail  changed  in  any  of  the  se- 
parate confederacies  which  may  be  formed.  These 
governments  are  established  for  the  happiness  of  the 
people;  the  people  themselves  watch  them;  they  can- 
not forget  their  glorious  destination. 

Such  is,  then,  the  first  duty  of  the  congress  of  the 
United  States.  The  democratical  clement  does  not 
prevail  there  in  the  same  degree  as  in  the  states  sepa- 
rately considered;  its  authority  is  not  very  dillercnt 
from  that  which  in  limited  monarchies  belongs  to  the 
throne.  It  has  only  a  very  small  army:  its  powers  arc, 
however,  sulliciont.  because  it  docs  not  abuse  them, 


I 


i 


40 


INTRODUCTION. 


Mm 


Ifi.i 


but  only  exercises  them  for  the  pubHc  advantage,  h 
lias,  consequently,  never  experienced  that  resistance, 
to  which  absolute  governments  arc  exposed;  and,  al- 
tliough  attempts  have  sometimes  been  made  to  intro- 
duce dissensions  into  this  great  body,  although  it  has 
been  obstinately  predicted  that  the  states  will  soon  se- 
parate and  make  war  upon  one  another,  the  spirit  of 
the  union  lias  been  more  powerful  than  all  the  efforts 
made  against  it,  and  this  union  has  never,  perhaps, 
been  seriously  threatened  except  on  one  occasion, 
which  was  in  1815,  when  the  Hartford  Convention  sent 
deputies  to  congress  instructed  to  denounce  the  presi- 
dent. They  have,  indeed,  since  contracted  the  reci- 
procal engagement  of  never  divulging  the  secret  causes 
of  this  proceeding.  The  steps  taken  by  this  assembly 
cannot  be  approved,  and  yet  it  must  be  acknowledged 
that  it  was  composed  of  estimable  men,  whom  tho 
people  had  chosen,  and  that  their  error  was  not  attend- 
ed with  the  melancholy  results  which  had  been  appre- 
hended. 

Montesquieu  supposed  that  free  states  were  the  most 
exposed  to  tumults  and  revolutions;  but  this  great  man 
was  only  acquainted  with  those  nominal  republics,  in 
whicli  the  citizens  arc  divided  into  classes  possessing/ 
unequal  rights.  The  tranquillity  which  reigns  in  the 
United  States  is  founded  on  the  perfect  equality  of  the 
citizens.  When  the  republic  is  at  peace,  all  the  part? 
which  comi)ose  it  are  equally  benefited,  because  there 
are  no  classes  whom  peace  distresses  and  for  whom 
public  calamities  are  a  means  of  power  and  influence 


If  war  t 
dour,  sii 
occasioi 
but  the 
in  whicl 
dcrs  hin 

Conlli 
rity  of  c 
and  that 
more  frc 
ral  gove 
served  t< 
directly 
consider 
this  con 
tion,  whi 
mention 
standing 
one  exec 
and  whil 
wisdom, 
have  ma 

A  ren 
vailing  [ 
not  long 
ried  on  I 
such  stri 
longest 
and  it  w 
nmphcd 


ill  I 


INTRODUCTION. 


41 


If  war  takes  place,  it  is  carried  on  with  a  common  ar- 
dour, since  all  equally  feel  the  wrong  and  injury  which 
occasioned  it.  There  are  twenty-four  different  states, 
but  the  American  loves  them  all  as  his  native  land,  and 
in  whichever  of  them  he  happens  to  reside,  he  consi- 
ders himself  in  his  own  country. 

Conflicts  iiavc  sometimes  arisen  between  the  autho- 
rity of  congress,  the  depositary  of  the  federal  power, 
and  that  of  the  separate  states ;  but  the  states  have 
more  frequently  been  disposed  to  transfer  to  the  gene- 
ral government  a  part  of  the  pov/er,  which  was  re- 
served to  them.  The  federal  constitution  emanates  as 
directly  from  the  citizens  of  each  republic,  separately 
considered,  as  its  own  particular  constitution.  It  is 
this  common  origin  of  the  powers  of  the  confedera- 
tion, which  constitutes  its  strength.  I  shall  hereafter 
mention  the  cause  which  may  affect  the  good  under- 
standing between  the  states  and  congress.  With  this 
one  exception,  every  thing  moves  on  without  difficulty, 
and  while  this  submissiveness  to  the  laws  attests  their 
wisdom,  it  assures  us  that  men,  associated  in  society, 
have  made  real  progress  in  the  career  of  happiness. 

A  remarkable  proof  of  the  good  intelligence  pre- 
vailing among  the  different  parts  of  the  Union,  was 
not  long  ago  afforded  by  the  war  of  restrictions  car- 
ried on  between  the  United  States  and  England.  Fn 
such  struggles  victory  belongs  to  the  party  which  can 
longest  support  its  own  losses  and  embarrassments; 
and  it  was  the  perseverance  of  the  Americans,  that  tri- 
umphed over  the  prohibitory  system.   They  obeyed  laws 


i 
II 


J  2 


IXTRODICTIOV. 


I: 


m\ 


tliat  were  in  opposition  to  all  their  liabits,  but  these 
laws  were  enacted  by  congress.  I^  was  the  United 
States  that  suggested  to  England  the  renunciation  of 
her  famous  navigation  act,  and  of  that  exclusive  sys- 
tem, which  she  had  so  long  maintained.  Free  com- 
merce makes  the  law  for  enslaved  commerce. 

Of  all  the  great  powers,  no  one  is  in  a  situation 
more  independent  of  the  events  and  vicissitudes,  which 
affect  the  repose  of  nations  than  the  United  States. 
Is  a  negotiation  commenced.''  Their  fundamental 
principle  is  equaliiy  in  the  stipulations.  They  have 
declared  that  they  will  only  treat  on  this  condition, 
The  other  party  must  conform  to  it  or  break  ofl'  the 
conferences. 

Skilled  in  navigation,  and  in  all  the  sciences  which 
constitute  the  pride  of  Europe,  long  initiated  in  all  the 
operations  of  English  commerce,  freer  now  than  even 
their  former  masters,  they  will  soon  become  their  equals, 
and  England  sees  in  them  rivals,  that  will  presently  be 
more  formidable  to  her  than  the  maritime  powers  of 
Europe  have  ever  been.*  England,  by  her  conduct 
towards  the  United  States,  first  revealed  to  Europe  the 
degree  of  power  to  which  this  new  people  had,  in  a 
very  short  time,  arrived.  She  w'ould  not  have  willing- 
ly allowed  the  world  to  know  how  much  she  requires 
their  friendship:  but  their  forced  participation  in  tlu 

♦  The  merchant  tonna<;e  of  the  United  States,  correspond ina;  tc 
the  British  ref^istered  tonnage,  was,  in  1827,  1,650,607  tons,  whiii' 
that  of  the  United  Kinj^doni,  during  the  same  year,  is  stated  in  l!u 
parliamentary  returns  to  have  been  only  2.105,605  tons.— Transi 


profits  ci 
j)resage 
ago,  thi 
The   hi 
which  w 
States  t' 
almost 
rcceivec 
ncgotiat 
Decemb 
St  roving 
tions  ha 
bring  foi 
immedic 
in  comn 
various, 
counterv 
They  ha 
the  one 
tutelary 
they  say 
far  from 
hut  leav 
that  the 
an  objec 
the  plac 
sit  iVmei 
own  sail 
time  co( 
with  the 


INTKOJHCTION. 


43 


profits  of  navigation  and  commerce  seemed  to  licr  the 
])resage  of  still  greater  losses.  She  believed,  a  few  years 
ago,  that  there  was  yet  time  to  arrest  their  progress. 
The  haughty  demeanour,  threats,  and  seductions, 
which  were  in  turn  employed,  only  warned  the  United 
States  to  provide  for  their  safety.  War  was  declared 
almost  simultaneously  on  both  sides.  J3ut  the  English 
received  from  it  a  harsh  lesson,  and  eagerly  entered  on 
negotiations  for  peace.  A  treaty,  signed  at  Ghent  in 
December,  1811,  put  an  end  to  hostilities  without  de- 
stroying the  germs  of  jealousy  and  enmity.  Negotia- 
tions have  been  prolonged  to  this  day.  If  the  English 
bring  forward  a  sine  qua  non  proposition,  the  Americans 
immediately  advance  another.  Reciprocity,  their  rule 
in  commercial  matters,  is  as  simple  as  its  forms  arc 
various.  They  have  their  discriminating  tarifls,  their 
countervailing  duties,  and  their  inflexible  prohibitions. 
They  have  also  an  act  of  navigation,  but  diflerent  from 
the  one  which  was  so  long  regarded  by  England  as  the 
tutelary  genius  of  her  commerce.  "  We  do  not  ask,*"" 
they  say,  "  that  your  ports  should  be  open  to  us,  wo  are 
far  from  requiring  that  you  should  change  your  laws, 
but  leave  us  ours."  England  has  at  length  learned 
that  the  military  marine  of  the  Americans  is  no  longer 
an  object  of  contempt,  and  that  concessions  must  take 
the  place  of  exactions.  She  no  longer  pretends  to  vi- 
sit iVmerican  ships,  in  order  to  take  from  them  their 
own  sailors;  she  has  mitigated  the  rigour  of  her  mari- 
time code.  The  English  West  Indies  cannot  dispense 
with  the  productions  of  the  United  States:  in  vain  have 


,it;  tJ 


i 

I 


i 


I 


11 


INTKODUtllU.N, 


the  English,  alleging  tiic  long  possession  of  the  colo- 
nial monopoly,  wished  to  retain  tlic  profits  oi'  this  na- 
vigation :  in  vain  have  they  hoped  that  Canada  would 
provide  for  the  wants  of  their  islands.  At  length  to 
preserve,  at  least,  in  appearance,  the  prohibitory  sy.s- 
tcm,  they  established  an  entr  ^.ot  in  the  Bermudas. 
The  Americans,  who  had,  at  first,  consented  to  this  ar- 
rangement, again  showed  themselves  inflexible,  and 
would  not  listen  to  any  modification  of  the  principle 
of  an  entire  reciprocity.  Then,  the  colonists  of  the 
islands,  who  bear  all  the  inconvenience  of  the  inter- 
ruption of  the  intercourse,  cried  mercy;  and,  in  1822, 
an  act  of  the  British  parliament  admitted  these  dread- 
ed rivals  to  a  direct  trade  from  the  United  States  to 
the  West  Indies,  and  even  to  the  English  colonies  ot 
North  America.  These  concessions  appeared  to  have 
been  made  with  regret,  and  had  hardly  gone  into  effect 
when  the  president  of  the  board  of  trade  thus  expressed 
himself  in  parliament:*  "We  wished  to  sustain  with 
the  United  States  a  contest  of  discriminating  duties: 
after  persevering  in  it  for  several  years  we  were  obliged 
to  yield;  but  having  entered  into  arrangements,  found- 
ed on  reciprocity,  with  the  American  government,  we 
could  not  refuse  to  extend  this  long  neglected  principle 
to  the  European  powers."  In  listening  to  these  words, 
one  would  have  thought  that  the  conciliation  was  com- 
plete; but,  in  the  month  of  July,  1826,  new  orders  in 
council  withdrew  from  the  Americans  the  participa- 


tion whic 
Thus  the 
sue  of  th 
lieve  mci 
interests 
even  thoi 
the  liben 
since  182 

Their 
out  any 
English  p 
flags  and 
The  Unit 
ties.  Th( 
to  the  soi 
ders  it  eq 
be  immed 

They  r 
rule  is  no 
which  the 
firmness, 
their  strei 
dling.  A 
equality  v 
ring  the  i 

Those 
mutual  s 
princes,  j 


♦  Mav  loth.  IH-IO. 


Ti 
(11 


I.VTRUDl  f HON. 


l.j 


tion  wliicli  Iiad  been  granted  them  in  the  colonial  trade. 
Thus  they  refuse  and  grant,  and  retract  again :  the  is- 
sue of  the  debate  is  always  uncertain;  and,  if  we  l)e- 
lieve  men  profoundly  instructed  in  these  matters,  the 
interests  of  navigation,  which  England  places  above 
even  those  of  commerce,  arc  already  endangered  by 
the  liberal  system,  to  which  the  United  States  have 
since  1822  brought  that  power.* 

Their  vessels  traverse  all  the  seas  of  the  globe,  with- 
out any  where  undergoing  those  humiliations  which 
English  pride  has  so  often  attempted  to  impose  on  all 
flags  and  to  which  some  have  been  obliged  to  submit. 
The  United  States  have  never  supported  such  indigni- 
ties. Their  principle  is  that  the  Hag  assimdates  a  ship 
to  the  sod  of  the  country  to  which  it  belongs,  and  ren- 
ders it  equally  inviolable.  The  slightest  insult  would 
be  immediately  resented  and  revenged. 

They  respect  the  rights  of  other  nations,  and  their 
rule  is  not  to  interfere  in  their  aflairs.  The  pretensions 
which  they  believe  to  be  well  founded  they  assert  with 
firmness,  and  they  will  never  maintain  them  feebly;  for 
their  strength  increases  even  whilst  the  contest  is  kin- 
dling. Although  disarmed,  liberty  puts  them  on  an 
equality  with  the  nations  that  continue  under  arms  du- 
ring the  most  profound  peace. 

Those  treaties  of  alliance,  those  conventions  for 
mutual  succession,  so  common  among  the  German 
princes,  are  scarcely  known  by  name  in  the  United 


i 


HI* 


*  March  19tl),  18^r.     Parliamcntarv  Debate- 


h) 


INTRODDCTIO.N. 


m 


States.  They  can  only  suit  sovereign  I'aniilics,  who  sci 
httle  vahie  on  tlie  ri«fhts  of  the  |)eoi)le,  whom  they  of- 
ten involve  in  quarrels  of  succession,  which  seldom  re- 
sult in  the  improvement  of  their  condition. 

If,  during  the  recess  of  the  legislature,  difficult  cir- 
cumstances recjuire  a  prompt  decision,  the  president 
does  not  fail  to  take  it,  and  he  is  sure  of  being  ai>- 
proved,  if  he  has  done  a  necessary  act. 

There  is  more  timidity  even  in  absolute  govern- 
ments, where  the  ministers  are  only  responsible  to  the 
throne.  In  critical  circumstances,  they  seek  to  gain 
time,  and  proceed  by  expedients.  The  difficulty,  in 
the  meanwhile,  grows  worse :  from  being  unwilling  to 
submit  to  reason,  they  are  obliged  to  eld  to  force: 
and  tney  lose  all,  because  they  attenq.        .o  retain  all. 

The  president,  and  the  two  houses  of  congress,  arc 
without  mysterious  archives.  They  have  no  concealed 
and  corrupting  police,  nor  have  they  those  secret  re- 
ports so  convenient  for  calumny,  so  dear  to  the  calum- 
niators, so  dangerous  to  the  persons  who  are  the  object 
of  them,  and,  oftentimes,  even  to  those  who  emploj 
them. 

All  the  aflairs  of  the  republic  are  brought  as  soon  as 
possible  to  the  knowledge  of  the  public,  without  any 
exaggeration  of  the  favourable  condition  of  some,  or 
dissimulation  respecting  the  bad  state  of  others.  And 
why  should  congress  and  the  administration  plot  toge- 
ther to  deceive  the  public,  or  to  conceal  from  them 
untoward  truths?  They  arc  themselves  part  of  the 
pu1>li<'. 


i 


Measui 
till  after  t 
tcrmined 
tiicir  disc 
to  make 
the  govei 
(lisagreea 
private  in 
the  law  is 
to  preven 
tion. 

The  hi 
president 
deaths  be 
acts  are  ji 
the  powe 
commend 

The  tw 
There  is 
the  speed 
mated  by 
calmness 
deiiberati( 
vacity  in  t 
does  not  ( 
members 
the  repres 
the  most  i 

Congre 
'tself,  is  n< 


INTROlM.rTION. 


I 


glllll 


iMcasuros  vvliich  interest  tlio  state  arc  never  adopted 
till  after  the  most  mature  deliberation.  They  are  dc- 
lerinined  on  in  the  presence  of  the  citizen?,  and  during 
their  discussion,  those  whom  tiiey  interest  seldom  fail 
10  make  known  their  opinion  by  publications,  which 
the  government  never  disregards.  Publicity  is  only 
disagreeable  to  those  who  would  wish  to  make  their 
private  interest  prevail  over  that  of  the  public.  When 
the  law  is  once  promulgated,  no  one  would  dare  either 
to  prevent  its  going  into  eifect,  o'  to  elude  its  oj)era- 
tion. 

The  history  of  every  day  also  cites  to  its  bar  the 
president  and  other  rulers,  and  'oes  not  await  their 
dcatlis  before  pronouncing  judgment  on  them.  Their 
acts  are  public,  posterity  already  exists  for  tiicm,  and 
the  powerful  as  well  as  the  weak  are  disgraced  or 
commended,  while  they  are  still  alive. 

The  two  houses  profess  the  same  political  doctrines. 
There  is  no  essential  distinction  in  the  character  of 
tlie  speeches  delivered  in  them.  Both  are  equally  ani- 
mated by  a  desire  to  render  their  country  happy.  iMore 
calmness  and  gravity  are,  however,  observed  in  the 
deliberations  of  the  senate,  and  more  warmth  and  vi- 
vacity in  those  of  the  representatives.  This  difference 
does  not  exist  without  a  cause.  The  functions  of  the 
members  of  the  senate  last  for  six  years,  and  those  of 
the  representatives  only  two.  The  latter  arc  therefore 
the  most  anxious  to  bring  themselves  into  notice. 

Congress,  in  its  unitbrm  course,  ever  consistent  with 
Uself,  is  not  at  diflerent  times  under  the  control  of  dif 


I 


ili 


INTRODUCTION. 


i 


ferent  factions;  but,  in  order  to  remain  free  from  those 
internal  agitations,  from  which  the  most  happy  coun- 
try is  not  always  exempt,  it  constantly  and  sincerely 
practices  the  maxim,  that  "  the  end  of  government  is 
the  happiness  of  society." 

There  is  henceforth  no  fear  of  the  triumph  of  des- 
potism over  liberty :  the  old  nations  of  Europe  would 
not  have  experienced  this  calamity,  if,  instead  of  sim- 
ple traditions,  subjected  to  human  and  variable  pas- 
sions, at  tiiC  will  of  an  ambitious  chief  and  of  an  igno- 
rant multitude,  they  had  had  constitutions  written  by 
sages,  and  confided  to  the  vigilance  of  all  the  citizens. 

It  is  thus  that  the  fundamental  laws  of  the  several 
states  of  the  Union  are  preserved.  The  sincerity  and 
clearness  with  which  they  are  expressed,  do  not  leave 
any  opportunity  for  sophistical  interpretations,  and  the 
introduction  of  obscure  expressions,  with  a  view  of 
hereafter  arbitrarily  explaining  them,  has  been  weil 
guarded  against.  If  there  are  some  differences  in  the 
state  constitutions,  they  are  only  to  be  found  in  the  ex- 
ternal forms  of  the  government;  they  all  have  justice 
and  equality  for  their  foundation:  >;hat  is  just  at  Bos- 
ton, is  so  at  New  Orleans. 

There  is  not  a  town  or  village,  in  which  are  not  to 
be  found  some  men  well  instructed  in  the  true  interests 
of  their  country:  and  if  to  the  intelligence  required  in 
those  who  engage  in  public  aftliirs,  they  join  the  vir- 
tues of  the  citizens,  they  will  infallibly  be  raised  to  the 
first  employments.  Any  man  may  be  called  to  the 
highest  ofiice.     The  great  Washington  had  been  a 


surveyor; 
a  planter, 
are  to  go\ 
crimes  ar 
coiisequer 
restraint  c 

A  long 
fear  that  i 
war  under 
ber,  or  on 
legious,  ar 
length,  dis( 
so  many  c 
pliers,  and 
'■To  rende 
and  at  the 

Congres 
principally 
foreign  me 
that  do  not 
at  raising  t 
contributor 
where  the  < 
one  of  its  f 
nianded  iro 
ment  of  tli 
mentation  ( 

No  one  \ 
lie  revenue 
::aining   tal 


INTRODLCTIOX. 


49 


surveyor;  Franklin  a  printer's  journeyman;  Jefferson 
a  planter.  Magistrates  chosen  by  those  whom  they 
are  to  govern,  are  easily  obeyed.  The  infrequency  of 
crimes  and  punishments  is  the  proof  as  well  as  the 
consequence  of  the  docility  of  the  Americans  to  the 
restraint  of  the  laws. 

A  long  peace  does  not  weary  them.  They  do  not 
fear  that  idleness  will  render  their  youth  seditious;  a 
war  undertaken  to  employ  them,  to  diminish  their  num- 
ber, or  on  futile  pretences,  would  seem  to  them  sacri- 
legious, and  would  b  ■■  impracticable.  They  have,  at 
length,  discovered  the  solution  of  the  problem  proposed 
so  many  centuries  ago  to  the  meditations  of  philoso- 
phers, and  submitted  to  the  experience  of  statesmen: 
'•To  render  comnmnities  happy  with  the  least  restraint 
and  at  the  smallest  expense." 

Congress  disposes  of  an  adequate  revenue,  arising 
principally  from  the  duties  paid  on  the  importation  of 
foreign  merchandize,  and  from  the  sale  of  puolic  lands 
that  do  not  belong  to  the  several  states.  It  does  not  aim 
at  raising  the  imposts  as  high  as  the  patience  of  the 
contributors  would  bear;  but  the  legislature  ascertains 
where  the  comfort  of  families  requires  it  to  stop,  and 
one  of  its  fiscal  principles  is,  that  the  less  that  is  de- 
manded from  the  people,  the  more  will  the  improve- 
ment of  their  condition  hereafter  facilitate  the  aug- 
mentation of  the  impost. 

No  one  would  dare  to  propose  to  inc.casc  the  pub- 
lic revenue  by  the  establishment  of  a  lottery  or  of 
L^mnng   tables,   or   by  any  other  means  that  would 


50 


INTRODUCTION. 


i 


have  the  effect  of  enriching  tiie  state  by  corrupting  the 
morals. 

Smuggling  could  be  very  easily  practised  on  coasts 
which  are  six  or  seven  hundred  leagues  in  extent,  and 
are  scarcely  guarded,  but  every  one  knows  that  in  the 
employment  of  the  public  revenue,  there  is  neither  pro- 
fusion nor  parsimony.  All  have  an  interest  in  prevent- 
ing fraud,  and  it  rarely  occurs. 

No  useless  pomp  encircles  the  magistrates.  Econo- 
my, so  discredited  and  ridiculed  in  our  courts  and  ca- 
pitals, is  held  in  honour  at  Washington,  and  even  in 
those  parts  of  the  United  States  where  large  fortune? 
are  not  rare.  Habits  of  simplicity  are  there  more  ef- 
fectual than  sumptua. ,  laws  would  be.  The  senate 
and  house  of  representatives  have  no  guards  but  their 
door-keepers.  The  repugnance  of  the  people  for  pomp 
and  empty  parade  does  not,  however,  prevent  their  be- 
ing always  disposed  to  incur  expenses  for  objects  that 
are  truly  useful  to  commerce,  navigation,  the  safety 
of  the  confederation  and  of  the  different  states,  and 
sometimes  even  for  such  as  conduce  to  public  orna- 
ment. 

Although  they  have  no  neighbour  to  fear,  they  Iiavc 
not  neglected  the  military  art.  This  science  is  taught 
at  West  Point,  upon  the  Hudson,  by  officers  of  reputa- 
tion. Some  able  engineers  have  been  educated  at  thif 
school. 

The  arsenals  and  magazines  of  the  Union,  and  ot 
the  several '  ates,  are  well  supplied  and  carefully  kept 
in  order.    Fortresses  are  in  the  course  of  construction 


From  th 
a  neutra 
the  caus 
which,  ir 
power. 

The  c 

gious  wo 

bodies,  t 

adapted 

Manuli 

colonies  < 

United  St 

lance,  hai 

of  which 

world.     J 

proved  th 

jeet  the  pi 

try  require 

dered  as  « 

protection 

revenue  si 

The  An 

diseases  o 

lieving  the 

loans,  but 

tionate  to  1 

imposing  i 

IJiithfully  e 

They  kn 

nc^s  of  wli 


iiif 


TNTRODICT 


51 


have 
aught 
sputa- 
Lt  this 

nd  ot 
kept 
ction 


From  the  year  1792  to  1812,  the  United  States  enjoyed 
a  neutrahty,  which,  thougli  disturbed  for  a  period,  was 
the  cause  of  the  prosperity  of  their  commercial  marine, 
which,  in  its  turn,  has  been  the  origin  of  their  naval 
power. 

The  churches  and  other  buildings  destined  for  reli- 
gious worship,  those  for  the  magistrates  and  legislative 
bodies,  the  court  houses  and  prisons,  arc  admirably 
adapted  to  their  objects. 

Manufactures,  always  prohibited  to  the  dependent 
colonies  of  Europe,  have  made  great  progress  in  the 
United  States.  England,  in  spite  of  her  jealous  vigi- 
lance, has  been  robbed  of  those  machines,  by  the  aid 
of  which  she  so  long  controlled  the  commerce  of  the 
world.  Independent  America  has  imitated  and  im- 
proved them.  Her  tariffs  have  for  their  principal  ob- 
ject the  protection  which  every  rising  branch  of  indus- 
try requires.  The  interests  of  the  treasury  are  consi- 
dered as  only  secondary.  The  decided  adrocates  of 
protection  to  manufactures  would  even  wish  that  the 
revenue  should  not  be  rcfrardcd  at  all  in  tliis  matter. 

The  Americans  consider  public  debts  as  one  of  the 
diseases  of  modern  societies,  and  they  are  far  from  be- 
lieving them  a  necessary  evil.  They  have  made  large 
loans,  but  always  with  a  view  to  an  advantage  propor- 
tionate to  the  magnitude  of  the  burden  which  they  were 
imposing  on  themselves;  and  these  debts  have  been 
faithfully  extinguished. 

They  know  that  loans  are  a  slow  poison,  the  sweet- 
ness of  which  has  often  deceived  and  seduced  statcs- 


ryi 


rNTRODlXTION. 


I*f; 


ff 


men  who  were  reputed  wise.  If  the  United  States  bor- 
row, the  reimbursement  is  always  fixed  at  a  definite 
time,  and  the  en^aijcment  is  never  eluded. 

The  Americans  are  constructing  canals  and  roads  | 
two  or  three  hundred  leagues  in  lengtli,  through  terri- 
tories still  occupied  by  savages.     Regions,  whose  wa- 
ters flow  to  the  north,  will  soon  communicate  with 
those  whose  rivers  have  their  courses  to  the  south.  ; 
There  will  be  a  connected  navigation  from  lake  Michi-  | 
gan  to  the  Illinois  river,  from  lake  Erie  to  the  Wabash. 
Steam  boats  will  approximate  the  gulf  of  Mexico  to 
that  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  New  Orleans  with  the 
city  of  Quebec;  both  of  which  places  were  once  under 
the  dominion  of  France,  though  the  latter  has  become 
English  and  the  former  now  belongs  to  the  United 
States.    The  noble  communications  of  this  description, 
so  justly  extolled  in  Europe,  are  not  superior  to  these 


new  undertakings. 


Favourable  to  commerce  and  agri- 


culture, they  have  another  advantage  which  had  never 
been  contemplated:  they  have,  as  it  were,  brought  near 
to  one  another  men  whom  great  distances  separated. 
It  has  not  been  possible  to  stifle  all  the  sources  of  jea- 
lousy; but  the  confederation  which  had  only  laws  for 
its  guarantee,  is  now  cemented  by  private  and  common 
interests,  which  are  continually  in  contact,  thougii 
without  clashing. 

Such  is,  in  its  [)olitical  economy,  the  conduct — such 
arc  the  maxims  of  a  new  republic — strong  by  its  pre- 
sent greatness,  and  which  increases  so  rapidly  in  re- 
sources, that  Its  friendship  is  every  year  more  to  be  de- 


sired, its 
one  of  tl 
with  kin 
admitted 
heads.  J 
an  inferic 
tions:  as 
on  their  1 
maintain) 
edly,  be  g 
self  abov 

Those 
incommo 
political  i 
persons  t< 
employm* 
cd  by  tin 
gate  it  h 
the  exam 
and  demc 
certain  m 
venting  n 

Amon<j 
the  trans  t 
is  one  wh 
men.  Tl 
make  noi 
the  contrt 
govcrnme 


INTRODUCTION. 


f}3 


gcr 


sired,  its  enmity  more  to  be  dreaded.  It  is  no 
one  of  those  nominal  republics  to  which  an  cfjual  rank 
with  kings  was  refused,  and  whose  ambassadors  were 
admitted,  as  if  by  tolerance,  after  those  of  crowned 
heads.  It  would  be  vain  to  attempt  to  assign  to  it 
an  inferior  rank,  to  subject  it  to  a  difl'erent  law  of  na- 
tions: as  independent  and  sovereign  as  the  monarchs 
on  their  thrones,  this  republic  has  on  every  occasion 
maintained  an  equality  with  them,  and  it  will,  undoubt- 
edly, be  sufficiently  wise  never  to  aspire  to  elevate  it- 
self above  them. 

Those  whom  representative  governments  annoy  or 
incommode  assert  that  they  are  the  most  costly  of  all 
political  systems,  and  they  find  credulous  or  interested 
persons  to  repeat  the  opinion  after  them.  It  is  true  that 
employments  may  be  multiplied  and  salaries  augment- 
ed by  the  aid  of  this  maxim,  and  those  who  propa- 
j^ate  it  have  often  their  share  in  the  profusion.  But 
the  example  of  the  United  States  proves  tliat  it  is  false, 
and  demonstrates  that  order  and  economy  are  the  most 
certain  means  of  avoiding  public  bankruptcies  and  pre- 
venthig  rcvoluiions. 

Among  the  circumstances  that  tin-eatcn  Europe  with 
the  transfer  of  her  pre-eminence  to  the  new  world,  there 
is  one  which  merits  the  particular  aitention  of  states- 
men. The  North  American  repubhcs  are  disposed  to 
make  none  but  judicious  expenditures.  Europe,  on 
the  contrary,  delights  in  extravagance,  and  most  of  her 
governments  arc  only  preserved  by  expedients. 


..'J 


.'il 


INTRODIJCTIO.N. 


It  is,  liowever,  from  England  that  the  United  States 
have  received  the  first  elements  of  representative  go- 
vernment; but  thoy  have  perfected  it  to  a  degree  vvhicii 
cannot  be  attained  in  Europe,  at  least  without  great 
struggles.  In  America  representation  has  its  prima- 
ry source  in  the  suffrage  of  individuals,  the  right  to 
exercise  which  is  unattended  by  any  embarrassing  or 
difficult  conditions.  The  possessor  of  a  cabin  and  a 
few  acres  of  land,  participates  by  his  vote  equally  with 
the  proprietor  of  ten  thousand  acres,  or  the  wealthiest 
merchant,  in  the  formation  of  tlic  legislative  assembly 
of  the  state  in  which  he  resides.*  Every  thing  which 
interests  the  community  or  its  several  classes  is  dis- 
cussed in  these  assemblies,  as  well  as  in  voluntary 
meetings,  which,  formed  independently  of  the  magis- 
trates, and  free  from  their  inspection,  proceed  with  as 
much  regularity  as  those  prescribed  by  law.  Habit 
and  a  sort  of  routine  there  occupy  the  place  of  sta- 
tutes, and  without  the  least  constraint  the  minority  re- 
ceive the  law  from  the  majority.  It  is  by  means  of 
these  private  assemblies,  that  the  knowledge  of  the 
true  interests  of  the  state  is  disseminated.  It  is  thus 
that  we  find  dispersed  over  the  whole  territory  more 

*  At  the  late  election  for  the  American  president  (1828)  nearly 
twelve  lunulred  thousand  votes,  in  a  population  of  about  twelve 
millions,  were  given  either  directly  for  the  electors^  whose  duty  it 
is  to  choose  that  officer,  or  for  the  members  of  the  legislature,  by 
whom,  in  two  states,  the  presidential  electors  were  named.  In 
France,  where  the  number  of  inhabitants  is  three  times  as  great  as 
in  the  United  States,  less  than  eighty  thousand  persons  take  part 
in  the  election  of  the  chamber  of  deputies. — Tuansl. 


than  ten  t 
interests  ai 
tant  matte 
the  asseml 
decorum,  i 
or  moderal 
rity  in  som 
assemblies 
who  are  or 
political  el( 
bar,  that  fo 
dents,  lean 
rules  of  01 
and  reason 

If,  from 
pass  to  tha 
and  of  thei 
miration,  tl 
ther,  withoi 
between  tin 

The  leg] 
in  the  sevei 
that  have  m 
legislates  i: 
years  that  1 
attended  w 
deration  is  ( 
time,  increi 
will,  limitei 


III  ft 


INTRODUCTION. 


55 


than  ten  thousand  persons,  enlightened  in  the  pubhc 
interests  and  affairs,  famiharizcd  with  the  most  impor- 
tant matters  of  legislation,  conducting  themselves  in 
the  assemblies  of  the  smallest  villages  with  gravity  and 
decorum,  and  submissive  to  the  orders  of  a  president 
or  moderator,  who  exercises,  without  effort,  an  autho- 
rity in  some  sort  absolute.  It  is  either  in  the  public 
assemblies  or  in  these  informal  meetings,  that  those 
who  are  one  day  to  govern  the  state  are  instructed  in 
political  eloquence.  It  was  at  them,  rather  than  at  the 
bar,  that  four  lawyers,  who  became  successively  presi- 
dents, learned  to  discuss  public  affairs,  less  after  the 
rules  of  oratory  than  according  to  those  of  wisdom 
and  reason. 

If,  from  the  view  of  the  general  confederation,  we 
pass  to  that  of  the  constitutions  of  the  individual  states 
and  of  their  relations  with  congress,  we  see,  with  ad- 
miration, these  great  bodies  move  harmoniously  toge- 
ther, without  any  difficulties  of  a  serious  nature  arising 
between  the  superior  and  subordinate  governments. 

The  legislative,  executive,  and  judicial  authorities 
in  the  several  states  arc  invested  with  all  the  powers 
that  have  not  been  delegated  to  congress.  Every  state 
legislates  in  civil  and  criminal  matters.  During  fifty 
years  that  this  order  of  things  has  existed,  it  has  been 
attended  with  none  but  happy  results.  As  the  confe- 
deration is  enlarged,  the  power  of  congress,  at  the  same 
time,  increases.  Some  of  the  states  have,  of  their  own 
will,  limited  their  extent  and  population,  and  aban- 


f>  r, 


ii 


:a'} 


INTIIODICTION. 


Jt 


3!-^ 


(loncd  vast  territories,  where  other  states  arc  already 
formed.  Tlic  preamble  to  tlieir  act  of  cession  was 
thus  expressed ;  "  Whereas  notliing  mulcr  Divine  Pro- 
vidence can  more  eftectually  contribute  to  the  tranquil- 
lity and  safety  of  the  United  States  of  America  than  a 
federal  alhancc  on  such  Uberal  principles,  as  will  give 
satisfaction  to  its  respective  members,  we  renounce  our 
claims,  &c." 

The  wars  which  are  excited  among  other  nations  of 
the  world  by  fanaticism,  ambition,  cupidity,  and  that 
restlessness,  which  torments  them  and  makes  them 
suppose  that  tranquil  happiness  cannot  bo  the  lot  of 
man,  will  never  trouble  the  people  of  the  United  States: 
not  that  all  the  individuals  among  them  are  free  from 
human  passions;  but  the  public  councils  are  formed  in 
such  a  manner,  that  the  decisions  of  government  arc 
always  dictated  by  the  general  interest.  A  country, 
which  will  be  larger  than  Europe,  and  which  is  com- 
posed of  so  many  different  states,  enjoys  a  peace  that 
promises  to  be  perpetual,  and  to  fulfil  the  bright  vision 
of  the  good  man. 

The  officers  and  magistrates  are  not  named  for  life. 
The  duration  of  their  functions  depends  on  their  con- 
duct: their  authority  is  defined  by  the  laws  with  so 
much  precision  that  abuses  are  very  rare,  and  can  be 
promptly  repressed.  A  principle  of  representation, 
which  flows  neither  from  hereditary  rights  nor  from 
any  fictitious  source,  constitutes  the  force  and  energy 
of  the  different  magistracies :  powerful  in  eflecting  good. 


tiicy  are  w 
son  disordi 
dangerous, 

It  has  b( 
temporary 
to  states  o 
experience 
is  an  error 
arc  made, 
ricnce  of  r 
that  it  is  a 
United  Sta 
prove  that 
it  can  neve 
hopes  of  tl 
now  no  loij 

The  jud, 
ver,  wiser  c 
in  HKiny  otl 
and  their  p 
a  less  degri 
cies  by  ace 
an  advanta 
of  afliiirs  d 
their  acts,  i 
matter  of 
ways  imj)ar 
most  wortl 
state  to  pri 
iilt:.    A  sin 


LNTRODLCTIO.N. 


57 


111 


/itiiout 


til  to 


cy  are  witiiout  strcngtli  to  oppress,  and  fur  this  rea- 
iioii  disorders  and  tumults,  when  they  occur,  arc  never 
dangerous. 

It  has  been  for  a  long  time  held  as  a  maxim,  that 
temporary  and  elective  niagistracies  arc  only  adapted 
to  states  of  limited  extent  and  small  poi)ulation.  The 
experience  of  the  United  States  Im's  proved  that  this 
is  an  error.  If  it  sometimes  happens  that  bad  choices 
are  made,  the  remedy  is  in  re-election ;  and  the  expe- 
rience of  more  than  half  a  century  has  demonstrated 
that  it  is  an  efficient  one.  Thus,  the  example  of  the 
Lnited  States  presents  itself,  whenever  the  oLject  is  to 
prove  that  liberty  is  in  every  respect  beneficial  and  that 
it  can  never  do  harm.  It  likewise  puts  an  end  to  the 
hopes  of  those  whom  this  liberty  alarms,  and  who  can 
now  no  longer  deny  its  benefits. 

The  judges,  senators,  and  ministers  are  not,  howe- 
ver, wMser  or  more  intelligent  in  the  United  States  than 
in  many  other  countries.  They  have  their  weaknesses 
and  their  prejudices ;  but  they  ought  to  have  them  to 
a  less  degree  than  those  who  are  raised  to  magistra- 
cies by  accident,  intrigue,  or  purchase.  They  have  also 
an  advantage  which  men  elsewhere  placed  at  the  head 
of  all'airs  do  not  possess:  the  laws  and  the  publicity  of 
their  acts,  submitted  to  the  censure  of  all,  render  it  a 
matter  of  necessity  with  them  to  be  always  just,  al- 
ways impartial;  not  to  give  employments,  except  to  the 
most  worthy,  and  never  to  sacrifice  the  good  of  the 
^tatc  to  private  passions  and  the  interests  of  individu- 
als.   A  sincere  probity  can  alone  ensure  the  public 

s 


ii 


if 


% 


w 


J» 


INTUODLCTION. 


confidence,  which  is  ever  ready  to  distinguish  true  me- 
rit from  false.  Impostors  and  hypocrites  would  soon 
be  unmasked.  Thus  even,  though  accident  should 
raise  to  an  important  post  a  man  inclined  to  be  bad. 
he  would  be  obliged  to  govern  like  those  who  were  na- 
turally virtuous,  or  he  would  not  be  able  to  retain  his 
office. 

These  wise  institutions  are  protected  for  the  future 
against  the  ravages  of  time:  free  presses  preserve 
them,  and  are  a  more  eflectual  defence  than  the 
towers  of  the  Louvre  or  of  London.  Under  this  gua- 
rantee, more  powerful  than  was  ever  the  authority  ot 
the  tribunes,  we  may  be  assured  that  the  benefits  ot 
social  order  will  be  durable.  A  moderate  republic  will 
never  become  an  absolute  democracy,  and  we  may 
add,  in  reference  to  other  countries,  that,  with  the  li- 
berty of  the  press,  a  royal  government  can  never  dege- 
nerate into  despotism. 

It  is  objected,  however,  that  these  presses  may,  at 
least,  endanger  the  peace  of  families,  and  injure  in- 
dividuals in  their  private  interests.  It  is  but  too  true 
that  they  have  often  served  the  cause  of  calumny;  but 
this  is  an  evil,  which  even  the  most  severe  prohibitions 
have  never  prevented ;  and  the  remedy  for  the  injury 
which  they  can  do  is,  under  the  system  of  liberty,  ef- 
fectual as  well  as  prompt. 

The  shafts  of  calumny,  so  justly  compared  to  poi- 
soned weapons,  resemble  them  likewise  in  this  respect; 
the  most  ferocious  savages  scarcely  dare  to  discharge 
them  le?t  thev  should  be  turned  against  themselvc- 


Differcnt  fr 


improved  i 
every  day  r 
cent. 

That  it  V 
American  r 
was  then  p 
the  presses 
violence.  J 
by  it.  Atthi 
it  is  possibl 
the  too  gre! 
soon  becom 
to  justify  hii 
to  a  pure  lil 
Ins  defence. 
of  a  journa 
of  licentiou 
having  beer 
ders  admin 
with  more  c 
do  this  peo 
they  to  disi 
nothing  is  s 
courts. 

There  is 
cannot  impr 
their  goveri 
their  budget 
tion  and  re 


INTRODUCTION. 


59 


Dift'crcnt  from  most  things,  the  hberty  of  the  press  is 
improved  and  strengthened  by  time,  and  becoming 
every  day  more  useful,  it  hkevvise  becomes  more  inno- 
cent. 

That  it  was  not  so  during  the  early  periods  of  tlie 
American  revolution,  we  readily  admit;  but  the  enemy 
was  then  present.  Royalty  had  warm  partisans,  and 
llic  presses  on  both  sides  were  actuated  with  an  equal 
violence.  Jeflerson  himself  was  for  a  moment  alarmed 
by  it.  At  this  time  an  animated  contest  is  going  on;  and 
it  is  possible  tiiat  a  good  citizen  may  be  injured  through 
llic  too  great  warmth  of  the  conflict.  But  the  blows 
soon  become  harmless,  and  without  taking  the  trouble 
to  justify  liimself,  he  may,  by  maintaining  silence,  leave 
to  a  pure  life  and  irreproachable  conduct  the  care  of 
Ills  defence.  There  is  no  example  in  the  United  States 
of  a  journal  open  to  irreligious  essays,  to  the  recital 
of  licentious  anecdotes,  or  to  offensive  personalities 
iiaving  been  long  supported.  The  disgust  of  the  rea- 
ders administers  justice  with  more  promptitude  and 
with  more  certainty  than  even  the  tribunals;  so  much 
do  this  people  love  decorous  truth,  and  so  ready  are 
they  to  distinguish  it  from  falsehood.  Among  them 
nothing  is  so  rare  as  prosecutions  for  libel  before  the 
courts. 

There  is  then  nothing  which  the  liberty  of  the  press 
cannot  improve;  and  the  Americans  would  think  that 
their  government  had  lost  its  reason,  if  they  saw  in 
their  budget  an  appropriation  destined  to  the  corrup- 
tion and  recompense  of  the  journalists.    To  pay  fo- 


.j;!'"' 


.1  I 


:\ 


'ii 


m 


IM'HODUfTION. 


(Ii 


rci*Tn  newspapers  to  publish  articles  carefully  prepared 
for  them,  would  seem  at  once  culpable  |)ro(ii«j[ality  and 
a  useless  act  of  folly-  I  will,  however,  admit  that  this 
liberty  is  not  without  daii^'er  for  all  kinds  of  ministers. 
Cardinal  VVolsey  said  to  Fisher,  '•  If  we  do  not  put 
down  the  press,  it  will  put  us  down."  Fisher  replied. 
"  Let  us  do  our  duty  as  good  and  wise  ministers,  and 
not  fear  any  thing  from  the  malice  of  the  press.  II 
we  would  interrogate  ourselves  we  would  fmd  how 
greatly  we  are  indebted  to  the  'reedom  of  the  press: 
when  it  notices  not  only  our  past  faults,  but  also 
warns  us  of  those  to  which  we  are  exposed.  I  am 
accustomed  to  receive  advice  from  the  press.  It  is 
a  torch  which  sometimes  hurts  my  eyes;  but,  were  it 
extinguished,  I  should  think  that  a  bandage  covered 
them." 

The  diplomatic  correspondence  is  printed  by  order 
of  congress,  as  soon  as  it  can  be  published  with  j)ro- 
priety.  The  cases  arc  rare  in  which  it  is  kept  liom  the 
knowledge  of  the  citizens.  The  newspapers,  by  their 
eagerness  to  gratify  curiosity,  often  anticipate  the  most 
diligent  couriers.  They  sometimes  give  as  much  in- 
formation as  secret  and  ciphered  despatches.  These 
frank  communications  are  a  great  innovation  in  the  re- 
lations which  foreign  powers  entertain  with  one  ano- 
ther; and  those  who  preside  in  the  cabinets  of  Europe 
have  not  yet  been  able  to  accustom  themselves  to  read 
in  the  gazettes  of  VV^ashington,  the  conferences  which 
they  hpve  had  with  the  American  envoys.  One  would 
think  that  they  are  afraid  of  showing  to  what  an  easy 


1 


science  t 
despot  V^ 
j)resses. 
the  name 
contempi 

The  r 
pressed  v 
rarely  ex( 
it  is  adeq 
means  of 
always  be 

These 
the  name 
already  fc 
ally  exten 
directions 
castles  t\ 
heights, 
inhabited 
and  the  t 
have  beer 
peopled  a 

All  the 
at  the  mo 
just,  and  I 
tlements 
together, 
superior 
bited  lan( 
forv  of  tl 


INTRODLTTION.  ill 

science  the  art  of  good  government  is  reduced.  The 
despot  Wolscy  tlien  liad  just  motives  for  dreading  free 
presses.  It  is  only  ministers,  who  arc  truly  worthy  of 
the  name  of  statesmen,  that  can,  with  a  trancpul  eye, 
contemplate  tlieir  action  and  brave  their  power. 

The  right  of  pubhc  petition,  the  recourse  of  op- 
pressed weakness  to  a  wise  and  cflicicnt  protection,  is 
rarely  exercised.  It  exists,  it  is  not  a  vain  formahty, 
It  is  adequate  to  restrain  unjust  magistrates,  and  this 
means  of  defence  is  rarely  employed,  because  it  may 
always  be  resorted  to. 

These  republics  which,  fifty  years  since,  still  bore 
the  names  of  colonies,  provinces,  and  plantations,  have 
already  founded  several  new  republics.  They  gradu- 
ally extend  themselves;  cities  and  towns  rise  up  in  all 
directions,  without  being  menaced  by  any  citadels  or 
castles  that  overlook  them  from  the  neighbouring 
heights.  Uncultivated  districts,  which  were  scarcely 
inhabited  by  a  few  Indian  families  when  Washington 
and  the  two  Jumonville  met  and  fought  there  in  1754, 
have  been  changed  into  rich  fields,  and  arc  now  as  well 
peopled  as  many  countries  of  Europe. 

All  the  difficulties  which  a  community  experiences 
at  the  moment  of  its  formation,  disappear  before  equal, 
|ust,  and  free  laws.  The  rapid  progress  of  these  set- 
tlements is  without  precedent.  Families  associate 
together,  at  their  own  instigation,  and  without  any 
superior  sanction,  to  go  and  occupy  the  uninha- 
bited lands  that  are  situated  even  beyond  the  terri- 
forv  of  the  states  of  the  Union.     These  self-created 


ft 


#1 

'Win 

i 

1:1    ;•  !'| 

62 


IXTRODUCTION. 


societies  name  their  own  magistrates,  their  officers  of 
justice  and  police,  put  themselves  in  a  state  of  defence 
against  the  Indians,  and  make  their  own  regulations, 
to  which  they  render  an  exemplary  obedience.     One  ol 
these  associations,  composed  of  three  hundred  families, 
took  possession  of  a  district  lying  on  the  borders  of  the 
Red  River;  the  new  society  had  not  to  encounter  the 
weakness  of  infancy;  it  possessed  from  the  beginning 
the  vigour  of  mature  age,  and,  a  few  years  after  its 
establishment,  it  became  part  of  one  of  the  new  states. 
It  may  be  remarked,  in  reading  the  acts  which  have 
emanated  from  congress  during  a  period  of  thirty  years, 
that  they  have  seldom  for  their  object  the  old  states  oi 
the  Union.     The  names  of  some  of  them  do  not  occur 
a   single  time.     Firmly  established  on   imperishable 
foundations,  they  have  only  occasion  for  local  laws,  and 
even  these  are  not  numerous.     Their  constitutions  be- 
ing formed,  and  their  fundamental  principles  well  con- 
solidated, the  protection  of  congress  is  no  longer  ne- 
cessary to  the  old  states.   On  the  other  hand,  it  is  con- 
stantly occupied  with  those  new  communities,  which 
liavc  been  founded  to  the  east  and  west  of  the  Missis- 
sippi, since  the  general  peace  of  1783.     At  first  dis- 
tricts, then  territories,  and  at  length  admitted  to  the 
rank  of  states,  they  enjoy  all  the  rights  of  the  old  mem- 
bers of  the  confederacy.   Until  they  have  attained  their 
strength,  it  is  necessary  that  congress  should  guide 
them,  instruct  them  and  defend  them  from  their  own 
errors;  and,  as  its  authority  is  only  exercised  for  their 
advantage,  it  rarely  encounters  any  obstacles.     From 


whence,  i 

communi 

formed  I 

mother  C( 

beyond  tl 

The  new 

and  for 

state  iron 

out  alarm 

tions.    Tl 

would  be 

No  peopl 

powerful  I 

HI  New  H 

tions  wou 

the  relatic 

political  SI 

dependent 

human  life 

ever,  these 

mitting  tin 

longed  the 

declared  t 

attempts  ii 

France, 

tiu-ough  je; 

Jug  new  cc 

on  accoun 

on  the  sub 

^hat  these 


INTKOUICTIOX. 


63 


whence,  indeed,  could  resistance  arise?  These  new 
communities  are  not  hkc  ancient  or  modern  colonies 
t'ormed  by  a  superabundant  population,  of  which  the 
mother  country  wished  to  relieve  herseli',  by  sending  it 
beyond  the  seas  to  people  desert  or  savage  countries. 
The  new  states  that  are  formed  exist  by  themselves 
and  for  themselves,  without  being  subjected  to  tlic 
state  from  which  the  emigration  proceeded,  and  with- 
out alarming  it  by  tiicir  complaints  and  their  insurrec- 
tions. The  system  called  colonization  is  at  an  end.  It 
would  be  vain  to  attempt  new  enterprises  of  this  sort. 
No  people  are  either  sufficiently  rich  or  sufficiently 
powerful  at  sea  to  imitate  what  the  English  have  done 
in  New  Holland,  and  the  settlements  which  other  na- 
tions would  form  there  would  only  have  with  Europe 
the  relations  of  commerce  and  navigation,  not  those  of 
political  subjection.  To  attempt  at  this  day  to  found 
dependent  colonies,  is  to  waste,  without  advantage, 
human  life  and  public  treasure.  Year  after  year,  how- 
ever, these  attempts  are  prolonged,  and  the  fear  of  ad- 
mitting t:iat  we  liave  been  deceived  might  lidve  pro- 
longed them  indefinitely,  if  the  United  States  had  not 
declared  that  they  could  not  hereafter  approve  such 
attempts  in  America. 

France,  England,  and  Spain  have  all  of  them  in  turn, 
through  jealousy,  prevented  the  rival  nation  from  found- 
ing new  colonies.  War  was  near  breaking  out  in  1770, 
on  account  of  the  Falkland  Islands,  and  more  recently 
on  the  subject  of  Nootka  Sound.  It  was  tacitly  agreed 
Hiat  these  countries  should  remain  desert.    The  Amc- 


I  ^ 


m 


j'''n^^ 


,  r 


^ 


li 


6J 


INTRODUCTION. 


ricans,  more  just  and  more  powerful  in  these  regions, 
wish  tliat  they  should  be  peopled,  and  they  proclaim, 
at  tlie  same  time,  with  a  sort  of  authority,  and  perhaps 
with  too  much  haughtiness,  that  they  will  not  hence- 
forth suffer  any  European  colony  to  be  established  in 
the  new  world.  Thus  another  Europe,  a  Europe  truly 
free,  rises  up  in  this  vast  continent;  and,  before  the  end 
of  a  century,  the  United  States  will  count  one  hundred 
millions  of  inhabitants  of  the  white  race.  Whether 
they  remain  united  in  one  single  confederacy  or  sepa- 
rate into  several,  the  forms  of  government  which  tlic\ 
have  adopted  do  not  leave  any  opportunity  for  ambi- 
tious aggrandizement,  and  the  wisdom  of  their  laws 
will  preserve  among  them  a  friendly  understanding.  It 
Europe  must  lose  her  pre-eminence,  she  can  never  lose 
the  many  treasures  of  science  and  intelligence  whicli 
centuries  have  accumulated.  It  depends  on  the  peo- 
ple and  on  their  rulers  to  retain  advantages  which  will 
not  be  inferior  to  those  of  any  people  of  the  world. 
They  will  be  retained,  if,  instead  of  repelling  the  ad- 
vantages of  a  just  liberty,  we  only  avoid  its  extravagance 
and  licentiousness;  to  effect  which,  education  wisely 
and  universally  diffused  throughout  the  nation  is  the 
most  certain  means. 

There  is  not  one  of  the  American  constitutions  which 
does  not  contain  provisions  relative  to  education  and 
the  advancement  of  science.  Commissioners,  chosci' 
by  th-;  iPihabitants,  superintend  the  education  of  youth. 
They  with  pleasure  see  them  instructed  by  a  master, 
who  has  a  wife  and  children,  and  who  teaches  them  h\ 


his  exam} 
Tiicy  hav 
exclusivel 
They  beli 
that  a  yo 
factitious 
choose  th( 
capacity  ir 
Their  k 
England, 
confusion 
rassed  the 
They  are, 
now  their 
The  rights 
bihties  on 
There  are 
the  prejudi 
estates. 

The  law 
to  foar  eith 
live  power 
countries  c 
very  much 
served  that 
for  the  dec! 
10  tell  the  t 
[)robity. 

The  gem 
!>roliibit  wi 


INTRODUCTION. 


65 


liis  example  to  become  one  day  good  heads  of  families. 
Tlicy  have  avoided,  with  great  care,  confiding  them 
exclusively  to  military  men,  to  lawyers,  or  to  priests. 
They  believe  thp<^  to  form  useful  citizens,  it  is  proper 
that  a  young  man  should  enter  into  society  without 
factitious  inclinations,  without  prejudices,  and  free  to 
choose  the  profession  to  which  his  taste  and  natural 
capacity  incline  him.  * 

Their  legal  code  was  originally  drawn  from  that  of 
England.  They  have  not  yet  entirely  removed  the 
confusion  with  which  huge  commentaries  have  embar- 
rassed the  distribution  of  justice  in  the  mother  country. 
They  are,  however,  engaged  in  this  reform,  and  even 
now  their  laws  no  where  offer  any  traces  of  feudality. 
The  rights  of  confiscation,  of  primogeniture,  the  disa- 
bilities on  the  inheritance  of  aliens  exist  no  more. 
There  are  no  longer  advantages  accorded  to  men  to 
the  prejudice  of  women  in  the  distribution  of  family 
estates. 

The  law  once  promulgated,  the  tribunals  have  not 
to  fear  either  the  influence  of  the  legislative  or  execu- 
tive power.  Oral  evidence,  which  the  laws  of  other 
countries  only  admit  with  a  great  deal  of  caution,  is 
very  much  used  in  the  United  States.  It  is  not  ob- 
served that  any  abuses  result  from  it,  and  this  respect 
for  the  declaration  of  a  witness,  who  has  taken  an  oath 
to  tell  the  truth,  is  a  homage  rendered  to  the  national 
[trobity. 

The  general  constitution  and  those  of  all  the  states 
)»rohibit  with  great  care  the  granting  of  any  titles  of 


M 

lima' I 


'* 


fe3 


'  ft'^i- 


66 


INTRODUCTION. 


Ill 


nobility.  There  are,  in  fact,  in  the  United  States,  no 
institutions  which  distinguish  certain  hereditary  classes. 
and  yet  it  would  not  be  rigorously  true  to  say  that  they 
do  not  acknowledge  high  descent.  There  are  in  the 
country  several  families,  settled  there  at  a  remote  pe- 
riod, who  are  known  by  their  hereditary  merits.  It  is 
never  in  vain  that  citizens  have  recourse  to  the  coun- 
sels and  assistance  of  these  patricians.  Their  virtues 
are  revered,  and  a  homage  is  paid  without  difficulty  to 
a  nobility,  which  consists  in  services  rendered  to  indi- 
viduals and  to  the  republic.  The  names  are  important, 
so  long  as  the  children  preserve  the  high  qualities  ol 
their  fathers.  It  is  on  this  condition  that  all  the  good 
which  their  race  has  done  is  carried  to  their  account, 
If  they  forget  the  duties  which  their  eminent  standing 
imposes  on  them,  they  fall  lower  than  those  who  had 
never  been  thus  distinguished;  and  other  citizens,  the 
names  of  whose  ancestors  are  unknown,  become  equal 
in  reputation  to  the  most  illustrious  men  of  their  time.* 
Such  is  nobility  in  America,  and  it  has  in  it  nothing 
that  offends  the  principles  of  equality.  This  eyception 
is  the  work  of  those,  who,  in  abolishing  the  nobility  of 
birth,  have  preserved  that  of  virtue. 

At  the  opening  of  a  session  of  the  legislature  in  one 
of  the  recently  formed  states,  the  governor  addressed 
the  following  words  to  a  numerous  auditory  :t 

*  Nam  genus  et  proavos  et  quae  non  fecimus  ipsi 
Vix  ea  nostra  voco!  Ovid.  Metam.  lib.  xiii. 

tOur  author  is  mistaken  as  to  the  source  from  whence  the  extract 
in  the  text  is  derived.  It  is  taken  from  a  speech  delivered  by  Juds' 
Story,  in  the  Massachusetts  convention  of  1830.— Transl. 


"  In  oui 
people;  t 
the  rich  n 
have  not 
form  a  pe 
are  wealtl 
divide  the 
fast  as  it  { 
exertions, 
of  descen 
mate  agra 
mass  heaj 
of  enterpi 
changing 
and  is  soo 
no  more, 
lined  limit 
another,  w 
iy  on  the  s 
brought  d 
with  scare 
to  the  higl 

The  de 
sure  on  tl 
centuries  i 
slowly  and 
deed,  but  I 
mentioned 
cles  that  t 
time,  let  i 


INTRODUCTIOX. 


67 


"  In  our  country  the  highest  man  is  not  abc^ve  the 
people;  the  humblest  is  not  below  the  people.  If  the 
the  rich  may  be  said  to  have  additional  protection,  they 
have  not  additional  power.  Nor  does  wealth  here 
form  a  permanent  distinction  of  families.  Those  who 
are  wealthy  to-day  pass  to  the  tomb,  and  their  children 
divide  their  estates.  Thus  property  is  divided  quite  as 
fast  as  it  accumulates.  No  family  can,  without  its  own 
exertions,  stand  erect  for  a  long  time  under  our  statutes 
of  descents  and  distributions,  the  only  true  and  legiti- 
mate agrarian  law.  It  silently  and  quietly  dissolves  the 
mass  heaped  up  by  the  toil  and  diligence  of  a  long  Hfe 
of  enterprise  and  industry.  Property  is  continually 
changing  like  the  waves  of  the  sea.  One  wave  rises 
and  is  soon  swallowed  up  in  the  vast  abyss,  and  seen 
no  more.  Another  rises,  and,  having  reached  its  des- 
tined limits,  falls  gently  away,  and  is  succeeded  by  yet 
another,  which,  in  its  turn,  breaks  and  dies  away  silent- 
ly on  the  shore.  The  richest  man  among  us  may  be 
brought  down  to  the  humblest  level ;  and  the  child, 
with  scarcely  clothes  to  cover  his  nakedness,  may  rise 
to  the  highest  office  in  our  government." 

The  development  of  all  these  advantages  is  no  cen- 
sure on  those  old  governments,  which,  formed  many 
centuries  since  upon  other  plans,  can  only  be  improved 
slowly  and  after  mature  deliberation.  We  cannot,  in- 
deed, but  be  astonished  at  the  progress  which  these  last 
mentioned  states  have  made  in  spite  of  the  many  obsta- 
cles that  they  have  had  to  encounter.  At  the  same 
time,  let  us  not  hesitate  to  acknowledge  that  if  the 


h**A 


\\l 


^^' 


IP 


U: 


G« 


INTKODtniON. 


lit 


I 'mm 


Americans  have  profited  by  the  learning  and  wisdom 
of  Europe,  the  people  of  the  old  world  will,  in  their 
turn,  receive  like  benefits  from  America.  Her  example 
and  recent  facts  have  taught  us  that  liberty  does  not 
diminish  the  vigour  and  energy  necessary  for  the  exe- 
cution of  important  enterprises.  If  it  does  not  enervate 
republican  governments,  there  is  no  reason  to  fear 
that  it  will  become  a  principle  of  weakness  in  limited 
monarchies.  Already,  ui  spite  of  resistance  on  all 
sides,  the  laws  are  improved,  and  wise  monarchs  have 
acknowledged  that  the  throne  can  only  be  solidly  esta- 
bhshed  by  uniting  the  interests  of  the  prince  and  the 
people:  placed  on  any  other  foundation,  it  may  be 
continually  shaken  by  internal  agitations  and  attacks 
from  abroad. 

The  constituent  assembly  of  France  made  some 
progress  towards  great  improvements,  when,  forty 
years  since,  in  obedience  to  the  almost  •  uniform  in- 
structions of  the  people,  it  reformed  our  legislation.  It 
had  intended  to  consolidate  the  throne  in  a  country 
where  the  royal  govcmnient  had  very  deep  roots.  But. 
although  its  work  was  in  part  destroyed,  the  spirit  of 
it  is  preserved,  and  no  effort  will  prevent  France  from 
again  becoming,  what  indeed  she  now  already  is,  a  mo- 
narchy limited  by  a  national  representation. 

The  Christian  tenets  are  acknowledged  throughout 
the  whole  extent  of  the  United  States.  Whatever  may 
be  the  modifications  v^hich  distinguish  the  difierent 
sects,  most  of  them  are  discreet  and  conform  to  the 
wise  laws  which  the  first  author  of  our  religion  taught 


to  man. 
principles 
fess  cxtrav 
if  a  real  t( 
tempt  and 
to  hinder 
civil  or  p( 
from  med( 
It  is  not  le 
of  an  ecclc 
belong  to  t 
in  America 

Several 
public  func 
the  exclusi 
houses  of  i 
nets  are  to 
ry  of  JVlic 
priest.  Tl 
convenienc 
before  they 

}5ut  the  I 
important  i 
much  as  tli 
those  of  I 
who,  by  tl 
and  situati 
out  the  pi 
armed  witl 
conscience 


INTHODLtTlO-N. 


09 


to  man.  Divided  on  articles  of  faith,  they  agree  in  the 
nrinciples  of  morahty.  Some  of  them,  however,  pro- 
fess extravagant  maxims,  which  would  be  dangerous, 
if  a  real  toleration  did  not  soon  consign  theui  to  con- 
tempt and  oblivion.  The  government  only  interferes 
to  hinder  doctrinal  points  from  invading  the  domain  of 
civil  or  political  legislation,  and  to  keep  the  priests 
from  meddling  in  matters  foreign  to  religious  worship. 
It  is  not  less  attentive  to  prevent  every  establishment 
of  an  ecclesiastical  jurisdiction;  and  all  matters  which 
belong  to  that  jurisdiction,  in  England,  are  cognizable 
in  America  by  the  ordinary  tribunals. 

Several  of  the  state  constitutions,  in  interdictin/y 
public  functions  to  priests,  could  not  comprehend  in 
the  exclusion  their  eligibility  as  members  of  the  two 
houses  of  congress.  A  few  clergymen  of  different  te- 
nets are  to  be  seen  in  them,  and,  in  1823,  the  territo- 
ry of  Michigan  named,  as  its  delegate,  a  catholic 
priest.  These  nominations  are  productive  of  no  in- 
convenience, because  the  representatives  are  citizens 
before  they  are  priests. 

But  the  exclusion  of  ecclesiastics  from  office  is  more 
important  in  the  United  States  than  elsewhere,  inas- 
much as  there  are  not  in  their  villages,  as  in  most  of 
those  of  Europe,  local  bailiffs  and  lords  of  manors, 
who,  by  the  authority  which  belongs  to  their  rank 
and  situations,  balance  that  of  the  priests.  With- 
out the  provision  in  question,  ministers  of  religion, 
armed  with  the  power  which  they  possess  over  the 
consciences  of  their  parishioners,  might  induce  them 


\W 


h 


•■t'»iJi 


I  :,.-.;^*: 


TO 


INTRODUCTION'. 


to  regulate  their  opinions  and  public  acts  according  to 
the  interests  of  the  prevailing  sect. 

A  tew  remarks  respecting  the  catholics  will  show 
the  happy  effects  of  a  general  toleration.  The  catho- 
lics, while  the  country  was  under  the  English  govern- 
ment, were  subjected  to  a  great  many  restraints  in  the 
exercise  of  their  religion.  Even  after  the  peace,  and 
as  late  as  1790,  there  was  only  one  mission  for  the 
whole  United  States.  At  this  day  there  are  ten  bishops 
under  a  metropolitan.  The  catholic  societies  of  fe- 
males have  been  greatly  multiplied.  Among  those  of 
the  men,  the  establishments  of  the  Jesuits  are  the  most 
remarkable,  fn  1806,  a  brief  of  the  pope  permitted 
them  to  preach,  teach,  and  administer  the  sacraments, 
The  progress  which  this  society  soon  made  would 
have  been  deemed  dangerous  in  any  other  country, 
and  congress  well  knew  how  formidable  its  ambition 
and  intrigues  had  rendered  it  in  Europe;  but  it  did  not 
suppose,  it  could  ever  become  so  in  a  country  where 
fanaticism  can  never  stifle  hberty  of  conscience;  and 
it  apprehended  no  danger  from  forming  a  college  of 
Jesuits  at  Georgetown  into  a  university,  with  power  to 
confer  degrees  in  all  the  faculties.  A  timidity,  the  cause 
of  which  is  understood,  has  prevented  this  enterprising 
society  from  resuming  its  true  name;  but  congress 
would  not  have  opposed  any  obstacle  to  it.  It  only 
sees  in  its  members  the  propagators  of  a  morality  use- 
ful to  the  community  and  to  the  instruction  of  youth, 
Every  one  knows  that  they  blindly  obey  a  foreign  au- 
thority to  which  thev  are  secretly  subjected.    This  oc- 


casions  nc 
"oodness 
any  reasoi 
free  and  c 

It  is  sai( 
there  were 
since,  thei 
is  principf 
Ireland  am 

There  is 
not  persua 
by  the  aid 
a  dominan 
all  kinds  o 
there  is  no 

What  a 
foundations 
against  the 
intolerant  1 
and  ignorj 
Franklin  fc 
States.  O 
proposed  t 
conformab] 
ter  calcula 
sages  of  A 

The  cat! 
rian,  and  tl 
the  law.  ' 
indulgence 


INTRODUCTION. 


71 


casions  no  alarm,  for  full  confidence  is  reposed  in  the 
"oodncss  of  the  const ihitions:  nor  will  there  ever  be 
any  reason  to  repent  of  tins  policy*  since  the  press  is 
free  and  can  never  be  enslaved  by  the  Jesuits. 

It  is  said,  tliat  in  the  city  of  New  York  alone,  where 
there  were  only  three  hundred  catholics  twenty  years 
since,  there  are  now  twenty  thousand.  The  increase 
is  principally  to  be  ascribed  to  the  emigration  from 
Ireland  and  Germany. 

There  is  not  in  America  a  single  statesman  who  is 
not  persuaded  that  social  order  can  only  be  maintained 
by  the  aid  of  religion,  and  it  is  to  the  establishment  of 
a  dominant  sect  that  opposition  is  alone  made.  Where 
all  kinds  of  Christian  worship  are  mutually  tolerated, 
there  is  no  longer  but  one  religion. 

What  an  advantage  for  legislators,  who  lay  the 
foundations  of  a  community,  not  to  have  to  contend 
against  the  errors  and  licentiousness  of  paganism,  the 
intolerant  theocracy  of  the  Hebrews,  or  tlie  fanaticism 
and  ignorance  of  the  Mussulmans  I  Jefferson  and 
Franklin  found  Christianity  established  in  the  United 
States.  Of  all  the  systems  of  religion  that  have  been 
proposed  to  the  human  understanding,  no  one  is  more 
conformable  to  the  rules  of  sound  morality,  no  one  bet- 
ter calculated  to  render  man  happy,  and  of  this  the 
sages  of  America  have  borne  honourable  testimony. 

The  catholic,  the  quaker,  the  methodist,  the  unita- 
rian, and  the  English  episcopalian  are  all  equal  before 
the  law.  Toleration  is  not  as  in  Europe  an  arrogant 
indulgence  of  one  sect  towards  another;  it  is  a  perfect 


ill 


n 


i 


%  4 


"^  ■'*p'  u. , 


72 


JNTKODLCTlOiN. 


m 


Pi-j 


equality  among  all.  Religious  quarrels,  without  the 
interference  of  government,  arc  always  innocent.  'J'u 
appease  the  combatants,  it  is  sulHcient  to  let  them 
alone. 

The  acknowledgment  of  one  God,  creator  and  be- 
nefactor, is  the  characteristic  which  distinguishes  the 
civilized  and  educated  from  the  savage  and  ignorant 
man.  Many  Indian  tribes  have  hardly  a  vague  idea  ot 
the  Deity,  or  of  the  immortality  of  tiie  soul.  All  of 
them  are  in  a  truly  wretched  state. 

On  the  other  hand,  men,  who  enjoy  social  advan- 
tages, acknowledge  that  it  is  to  Providence  that  they 
are  indebted  for  them.  The  state  of  New  York  mo- 
dified its  constitution  in  1821,  and  the  new  act  com- 
mences by  a  homage  rendered  in  these  terms  to  the 
Deity:  "  We,  the  people  of  the  state  of  New  York,  ac- 
knowledging with  gratitude  the  grace  and  beneficcntc 
of  God,  in  permitting  us  to  make  choice  of  our  form 
of  government,  do  establish  this  constitution." 

Thus  we  see  that  the  Americans,  after  the  example 
of  kings,  found  the  power  of  the  state  on  divine  right: 
this  they  do  with  great  propriety;  for  to  make  men 
happy  is  an  obligation  imposed  on  rulers,  which  should 
be  placed  in  the  first  rank  among  eternal  truths,  and 
it  is  to  Providence  tliat  they  must  be  indebted  for  the 
ability  to  perform  this  duty. 

An  article  of  this  constitution  proclaims  liberty  ot 
conscience,  and  the  one  which  follows  is  expressed  in 
these  words:  "Whereas  the  ministers  of  the  gospel 
arc,  by  their  profession,  dedicated  to  the  .service  of 


(lod  and 
ed  from  tl 
minister  c 
uhatsocv( 
or  cnpabii 
in  this  sta 

The  All 
who,  in  E 
vanccs  of 
never  rctr 
well  of  th( 
forth  notl; 
States  of  1 
feet  model 

At  the  p 
only  the  n 
sippi  were 
ly  elapsed, 
coasts  of  t 
ments,  wh 
founded  tl 
have  giver 
rivers  of  tl 
man  the  Ik 
cius.  Con; 
after  cxten 
but  its  int( 
publican  g^ 

*  A  ship  fr 
ill  1791. 


iMKoni  ( HON.  I'.i 

(iod  and  the  care  of  soul;?,  nm\  oii^^bt  not  to  be  divert- 
ed from  the  «^rcat  duty  ol"  their  tiinctioiis;  therefore  no 
minister  of  the  «^osi)el  or  priest  of  any  denomination 
whatsoever,  sliall,  at  any  time  liereaftcr,  be  ehgibic  to 
or  capabh)  of  hohling  any  civil  or  military  ofTice  with- 
in this  state." 

The  Americans  have  not  to  dread  those  conquerors 
who,  in  Europe,  have  arrested  and  destroyed  the  ad- 
vances of  civilization.  In  this  situation  a  [)eoplc  will 
never  retro*,^radc;  it  will  always  advance,  in  spite  as 
well  of  the  ambitious  as  of  the  intolerant,  and  hence- 
forth nothing  in  the  world  can  deprive  the  United 
States  of  the  honour  of  having  first  presented  a  per- 
fect model  of  the  best  federal  constitution. 

At  the  period  of  the  cession  of  Louisiana,  at  the  west, 
only  the  months  of  the  rivers  tributary  to  the  Missis- 
sippi were  exploicd.  Twenty-five  years  have  scarce- 
ly elapsed,  and  the  United  States  already  I'orm,  on  the 
coasts  of  the  Northern  Ocean,  commercial  establish- 
ments, which  are  the  germs  of  states  that  will  be 
founded  there  before  the  end  of  the  century.  They 
have  given  Columbus's  name  to  one  of  the  principal 
rivers  of  those  regions,*  thus  restoring  to  this  great 
man  the  honours  unjustly  decreed  to  Americus  Vespu- 
cius.  Congress  has  not  announced  the  design  of  here- 
after extending  the  confederacy  to  the  Pacific  Ocean; 
but  its  intention  of  sccurinj;  to  these  territories  a  re- 
publican  government  cannot  be  doubted.    This  system 

*  A  ship  from  Boston,  called  Columbus,  first  entered  this  river 
in  1791. 

10 


m 


)> 


IN 


mm 


I 


ii 


thk 


1^1 


1 


INlKOliK  'HON. 


* 


is  about  to  cnibraci*,  by  u  gt^nciul  impulse,  tlic  wliok 
of  the  new  world;  anil  it  maybe  predicted  that  the  se- 
veral states,  wiiich  we  sec  rise  up  in  tiu!  soutli,  will 
make  the  coustitutions  of  the  United  States  tlieir  mo- 
ileis. 

Already  strong  by  tlie  irresistil)le  power  of  numbers, 
the  new  republics  of  the  southern  continent  advance 
in  the  career  of  independence,  which  they  have  con- 
quered. They  have  their  own  principle  of  legitimacy, 
wliich  is  the  will  of  all.  They  have  just  proclaimed 
that  "  nations  exist  by  the  decrees  of  a  universal  and 
Divine  Providence,  and  that  rulers  only  derive  thcii 
power  from  the  will  and  consent  of  the  people."  They 
may  be  divided  among  themselves  on  questions  of  po- 
litical expediency;  but  in  the  midst  even  of  the  tu- 
mults incident  to  new  states,  not  a  sigh  of  regret  to- 
wards their  powerless  and  decrepit  parent-country 
ever  escapes  them. 

Even  the  Indian  population  is  but  thinly  scattered 
over  the  immense  space  which  extends  from  the  great 
river  to  the  Western  Ocean;  and  the  Americans  find 
few  obstacles  in  pushing  on  their  settlements  over  re- 
gions, which,  in  spite  of  the  richness  of  the  soil,  have 
been  long  useless  to  man.  Whatever  may  be  our  re- 
spect for  the  ancient  rights  of  property,  it  is  difhcult 
to  admit  those  of  a  single  family  to  ten  square  leagues, 
where  ten  thousand  persons  could  be  supported  in 
abundance. 

The  Indians  maintain  that  liberty,  with  the  obliga- 
tion of  labouvini;  and  obeving  the  laws,  would  be  real 


.slavery, 
way,  by 
forts  of  t 
their  con 
four  cent 
wards  th( 
Mexico,  {] 
liave   pro 
roads,  far 
The  ne 
the  profoi 
prcciate  s 
one  side, 
beauty;  o 
table  con 
social   ore 
nelits  of  c 
liorate   th 
yet  taughi 
inilies  is 
the  smalk 
cultivated, 
surest  gui 
vage  has 
and  a  few 
rate  himsc 
is  suppose 
IS  unacqu 
plying  the 
rienco  tea 


iNi'KoDii  rrON. 


7.) 


Iiga- 


'liivory.  Kiiropc  has  wi.slicd  to  civilize  tlicni  in  her 
way,  by  giving  tlicni  lier  laws  and  lior  learning:  the  ef- 
forts of  tliree  centnries  liave  not  tended  to  niehorate 
their  condition;  wliile  the  advances  made,  three  or 
four  centuries  before  the  discovery  of  America,  to- 
wards the  introduction  of  social  order  in  Peru  and 
Mexico,  prove  that,  left  to  themselves,  reason  would 
have  probably  conducted  the  aborigines,  by  other 
roads,  farther  than  our  example  hiis  carried  them. 

Tiic  neighbourhood  of  these  tribes  and  the  view  of 
the  profound  misery  which  harasses  them  make  us  ap- 
preciate still  more  the  advantages  of  good  laws.  On 
one  side,  we  see  society  in  all  its  vigour,  splendour,  and 
beauty;  on  the  other,  a  state  of  weakness,  the  inevi- 
table consequence  of  the  absence  of  knowledge  and 
social  order.  The  aborigines,  witnesses  of  the  be- 
nefits of  civilization,  have  profited  little  by  it  to  me- 
liorate their  own  situation.  Our  example  has  not 
yet  taught  them  that  the  division  of  lands  among  fa- 
milies is  the  first  condition  of  the  social  state,  that 
the  smallest  proprietor  loves  the  field  w-hich  he  has 
cultivated,  and  that  this  attachment  to  the  soil  is  the 
surest  guarantee  of  the  repose  of  society.  Tl)e  sa- 
vage has  no  property  except  in  his  bow,  his  canoe, 
and  a  few  ornaments,  with  which  he  delights  to  deco- 
rate himself  in  battle  or  on  holidays,  l^ess  free  than 
is  supposed,  he  is  dependent  for  his  daily  wants,  and 
IS  unacquainted  with  the  most  ready  means  of  sup- 
plying them.  In  the  civilized  state,  science  and  expe- 
rience teach  these  means  to  man,  and  his  well-being 


ili 


In 


I  lib: 


t- 


vm 


lli 


i 


70 


IMRODUf  IIO.N. 


advances  with  his  knowledge.  It  is  for  a  contrary  rea- 
son, that  error  and  ignorance  are  so  favourable  to 
despotism.  The  Indians  do  not,  however,  live  wholly 
without  restraint:  travellers  have  found  none  of  them 
in  that  primitive  state,  which  we  have  called  the  state 
of  nature,  and  in  which  even  the  ties  of  families  do  not 
exist.  Their  liberty  is  not  the  right  of  doing  whatever 
they  wish:  they  have  customs  which  occupy  the  place 
of  laws,  and  which,  though  they  arc  ferocious  and  san- 
guinary, serve  to  moderate  their  excesses.  A  savage 
came  one  day  to  Sinnamari  and  said  to  Simapo,  liis 
chief,  "  Aricapoto  has  killed  my  brother;  I  have  killed 
him,  and  his  son  likewise."  I  heard  Simapo  reply. 
"  You  have  done  well.''  '•  I  am  going  also,"  conti- 
nued the  Indian,  -to  kill  the  brother  of  Aricapoto." 
SimajK)  forbade  him,  and  the  injured  man  stopped  lii^ 


vengeance. 


Reason  has  banished  from  our  codes  whnt  was  lor 
a  long  time  called  public  vengeance.  The  civil  autho- 
rities no  longer  })unish  exce|)t  to  restrain  the  guilty  ami 
to  deter,  by  example,  others  from  the  commission  of 
crime,  l^ut,  among  savage  tribes,  vengeance  is  pur- 
sued by  families,  and  the  i)ublic  power  sometimes  in- 
terposes its  aid.  If  the  murderer  takes  refuge  amomi 
a  neighbouring  and  friendly  nation,  it  is  obliged  to  do- 
liver  him  up;  or,  should  it  refuse  and  protect  him,  tiic 
refusal  almost  always  becomes  a  cause  of  war. 

The  aborigines  are  not  ignorant  of  the  horror,  witli 
wliich  the  custom  of  eating  prisoners  of  war  mspircs 
us,  and  I  have  never  been  able  to  obtain  any  j)reci8r 


iiitormatio 
subject, 
silence,  hri 
have  not  j 
nion  a  moil 

From  tl 
count,  the 
into  distin 
small  nati( 
,<liould  h;\\ 
guished  tc 
guages,  wl 
language  i 
diflerent  tl 
into  small 
ncvcrtiiele: 
and  above 
they  obstir 

These  ii 
and  in  thei 
crful,  after 
nicorporat 

Some  sa 
whites.  Ii 
wliich  the) 
they  oL  cy\ 
progress. 
spectacle 
neither  jea 
fling  indeni 


INTKODl'CTIO.N. 


7/ 


iiitbimation  from  tliosc  wliom  1  have  questioned  on  this 
subject.  15ut  the  vagueness  of  tlieir  replies,  or  their 
silence,  has  led  me  to  believe  that  our  exhortations 
have  not  put  an  end  to  the  practice.  It  is  more  com- 
mon among  the  northern  than  the  southern  tribes. 

From  the  earliest  period,  of  which  wo  have  any  ac- 
count, the  savages  of  North  America  liavo  been  formed 
into  distinct  tribes;  every  one  of  which  constitutes  a 
small  nation.  These  tribes,  whom  a  common  interest 
.-should  have  united  against  the  Europeans,  are  distin- 
guished to  the  west  of  tJic  Mississippi  by  lour  lan- 
guages, which  bear  no  comiiton  resemblance.  Each 
language  is  again  divided  into  dialects,  which  are  so 
diflerent  that  it  may  be  concluded  that  the  separation 
into  small  tribes  dates  back  several  centuries.  They, 
nevertheless,  resemble  one  another  in  their  customs, 
and  above  all  by  the  j)rofound  ignorance,  in  which 
they  obstinately  continue. 

These  indej)endent  societies  are  seldom  at  peace: 
and  in  their  wars  it  often  happ,ens  that  the  most  pow- 
crfnl,  after  having  coujpiered  the  weaker  tribe,  either 
uicori)orates  it  with  itself  or  exterminates  it. 

Some  savages  have  i)acilic  dispositions  towards  the 
whites.  Indemnified  at  a  small  e.\j)ense  lor  the  lands 
which  they  abandon,  tolerated  on  their  own  territory, 
they  ot  'erve  the  new-comers  without  interrupting  their 
progress.  The  communitv  which  is  lorming  is  like  a 
spectacle  presented  to  their  curiosity;  they  conceive 
neither  jealousy  nor  alarms  res})ecting  it,  and,  for  tri- 
fling indemnities,  religiously  observe  the  peace  of  which 


te'i 


1  '''•-•■■H,^ 


i,>«<j 


'-W%^ 


«H. 


u 


iMKOl'L(  I'lON. 


the  calumet  is  the  symbol.  A  subsidy,  tliough  aii- 
nual,  is  only  in  their  eyes  the  price  of"  the  land  which 
they  abandon.  It"  they  received  it  as  the  condition  ofu 
peace,  they  would  consider  their  tributaries  interested 
in  breaking  the  treaty. 

Others  have  warlike  dispositions  and  arc  not  so  ea- 
sily subdued.  Those  who  are  still  scattered  along  tJK 
borders  of  the  Mississippi  and  of"  the  numerous  streai  ■ 
from  which  that  river  receives  its  waters,  misht  arm 
twenty  thousand  warriors,  but  they  arc  in  no  condition 
to  unite  their  forces:  they  fear  the  Americans,  who  arc 
so  superior  to  them  in  numbers  and  skill.  They  were  tlic 
auxiliaries  of  the  English  in  the  war  of  independe'iec. 
and  in  that  of  I  {{12.  They  continue  since  the  peace 
to  trouble  their  neighbours,  less  indeed  by  constant 
hostilities  than  by  frecjuent  surprises  on  their  extreme 
frontiers.  If  they  attack  with  fury,  it  is  not  so  much  to 
avenge  the  loss  of  their  territory,  as  through  hatred  ol 
civilization.  They  arc  irritated  at  the  progress  of  social 
order,  as  soon  as  they  fear  that  it  is  intended  to  sul^jcct 
then)  to  it:  thev  detest  its  advantages,  because  the. 
cannot  reconcile  tlicni  with  a  liberty  which  cannot  en- 
dure control,  iuither  than  subject  themselves  to  tin 
restraints  inseparable  from  the  civilized  state,  they  fly  to 
a  distance,  abandoning  their  native  soil  and  the  abode 
of  their  fathers.  But  whether  they  remove  or  whether 
they  remain,  when  war  is  once  terminated  by  a  treaty, 
they  lay  down  their  arms  and  only  resume  them  for  the 
chase.  To  go  during  peace  to  visit  their  chief  or  then 
friends,  with  the  bow  or  the  tomahawk  in  the  luuul 


would  app( 
battle  with 

Tiiere  a 
nicnts — the 
luivc  bccon 
society  beg 
tcrs,  there 
wants,  he  \ 
milk,  to  be 
pic  slicep-sl 
-top,  that  tl 
stops. 

The  aboi 
than  our  vir 
more  oppor 
Those  who 
giving  them 
IS  thus  that 
our  usages  y 
depraved  ai 
who  are  for 
more  hospit; 
have  besun 
mechanical 
to  teach  the 
hsten  to  the 
out  assentinj 
What  has  be 
It's  Letters,"' 
have  publisi 


IN'I'KOFMTTFOV. 


79 


tlie\ 

cu- 

tlu 

ly  I.) 

30(1c 

)thL'i 
caty 
the 
then 


would  appear  to  thorn  as  unreasonable  as  to  march  to 
battle  without  arms. 

There  are  with  them  only  two  i)rinci|)al  rmpjoy- 
mcuts — those  of  hunters  and  warriors.  Some,  it  is  true, 
have  become  shepherds:  it  is  tims  that  a  more  regular 
society  begins  to  be  formed;  wherever  tiiere  arc  mas- 
ters, there  arc  servants.  The  chief,  then,  lias  new 
wants,  he  wishes  to  be  better  fed  than  on  bread  and 
milk,  to  be  better  clothed  than  his  servants,  and  a  sim- 
ple sheep-skin  w  ill  not  satisfy  iiim.  It  is,  at  this  first 
step,  that  the  civilization  of  many  of  the  Indian  tribes 
stops. 

The  aborigines  have  more  readily  adopted  our  vices 
than  our  virtues,  and  the  whites  afibrd  them,  indeed. 
more  opportunities  to  imitate  bad  than  good  examples. 
Those  who  trade  with  them  are  seldom  capable  of 
giving  them  lessons  of  morality  and  good  conduct.  It 
IS  thus  that  these  Indians,  familiarized  with  some  of 
our  usages  without  our  morals,  have  become  the  most 
depraved  and  the  most  miserable  of  men.  Those, 
who  are  for  the  first  time  known  by  the  whites,  exhibit 
more  hospitality  and  frankness.  A  very  few  of  the  tribes 
have  begun  to  cultivate  land,  and  to  exercise  the  rudest 
mechanical  arts.  But  it  has  been  in  vain  attempted 
to  teach  them  our  religion  and  its  mysteries.  They 
hsten  to  the  missionaries  without  interest,  and  with- 
out assenting  to  their  doctrine  or  rei'using  their  belief 
^Miat  has  been  narrated  by  the  authors  of**  The  Jesu- 
it's Letters,"  what  the  English  and  other  .missionaries 
'i'lve  published,  lias  not  been  confirmed  by  tlie  tcsti 


.i*§ 


m 


M«« 


80 


I.N  I'KODt  t   1  iON, 


Ht 


mony  of  any  traveller.  A  child  six  years  old,  cdiicateii 
among  us,  is  better  acquainted  with  the  ('hiistian  reli- 
gion than  an  Indian  ,vho  has  been  instructed  in  it  for 
ten  years.  The  whole  of  the  Old  and  New  Testa- 
ments has  been  translated  into  the  language  of  the 
most  numerous  of  these  nations.  Two  editions  of  tiie 
work  have  been  printed  in  England:  but  not  one  Indian 
even  knowing  how  to  read  could  understand  this  book. 
m  which  there  is  scarcely  a  word  in  ten  that  belongs  to 
his  language,  h  is  a  useless  labour,  dictated  by  iir 
norance,  or  perhaps  undertaken  to  deceive  persons  in- 
discreetly zealous  for  the  conversion  of  the  savages. 

The  missionaries,  whom  zeal  still  carries  into  these 
regions,  arc  soon  convinced  that  they  have  given  too 
much  credit  to  the  narratives  of  those  who  have  pre- 
ceded them. 

An  imposter,  who  represented  himself  as  a  mission- 
ary, was  hospitably  received  by  the  tribe  of  Osage? 
He  pretended  to  have  the  gift  of  exorcism,  and  laugli! 
the  people  in  what  this  power  consisted.  Several  de 
moniacs  presented  themselves,  and  were  delivered 
Many  sick  then  came  from  neighbouring  tribes,  witli 
whom  he  had  the  same  success;  but  these  men,  proud 
of  their  supernatural  cure,  became  turbulent,  and  quai 
relied  with  one  another  and  with  the  other  familio? 
The  sachem  or  chief  of  the  Osages  considered  it  j)iu- 
dent  to  send  away  the  pretended  exorcist,  and,  as  soon 
as  he  was  gone,  there  were  no  more  men  possessed 
with  devils. 

We  may  j)rcdi(  I  with  rontidenrc.  Hi.d.  U)  loss  thai 


two  centu 

two  A  men 

serve  thei 

races  shoi 

the  whites 

two  rival  f 

prolongino 

the  power 

The  Ain 

law  respec 

view  to  th 

right  bank 

separate  a 

confederac 

The  Cherc 

by  which  it 

and  they  h 

niary  grant 

the  wester] 

still  going  ( 

"An  attc 

Monroe,  in 

1824,)  "wo 

measures  tc 

ill  our  limit! 

uiid  a  charf 

*  Traveller!. 
Indian  tribes, 
will  extend  ir 
sL'arches  fix  tl 
lie  nece?s<arih 


IN  rK()i)i;(  Tio.N. 


81 


tli: 


Uvo  centuries,  all  these  nations  will  disappear  from  the 
two  Americas.  History  and  <Tcography  will  scarce  pre- 
serve their  names:  if  a  tew  feeble  fra<fments  of  their 
races  should  still  remain,  they  will  be  confounded  with 
the  whites,  and  there  wi!)  not  be  seen  on  the  same  soil 
two  rival  people,  one  subject  and  conquered,  the  other 
prolonging  the  right  of  war.  and  perpetuating  in  peace 
the  power  of  victory.* 

The  Americans  hold  it  as  a  maxim  of  their  public 
law  respecting  the  Indians  that  it  is  advisable,  with  a 
view  to  their  own  happiness,  to  remove  them  to  the 
right  bank  of  the  Mississippi;  that  their  existence,  as 
separate  and  independent  tribes  in  the  bosom  of  the 
confederacy,  is  incompatible  with  the  civilizx'd  state. 
The  Cherokees  and  Creeks  first  resisted  this  policy, 
by  which  it  was  intended  to  drive  them  from  Georgia, 
and  they  have  not  been  enticed  away  either  by  pecu- 
niary grants  or  olfers  of  a  more  extended  territory  in 
the  western  regions.  The  negotiation  is,  however, 
still  going  on. 

'•  An  attempt  to  remove  them  by  force,"'  (said  Mr. 
Monroe,  in  a  message  to  congress  of  the  30th  of  March, 
1B24,)  "would  in  my  opinion  be  unjust.  In  the  future 
measures  to  be  adopted  in  regard  to  the  Indians  with- 
in our  limits,  the  United  States  have  duties  to  perform 
and  a  character  to  sustain  to  which  they  ought  not  to 

*  Tiavellers  have  given  stateinoiits  of  the  population  of  all  the 
Indian  tribes,  that  inhabit  the  regions  to  which  the  United  States 
will  extend  in  advancing  towards  the  great  ocean.  Their  rc- 
Miuches  fix  the  ninnbor  of  souls  at  5 :?4,6.')6.  These  rnlculatious 
;>ie  necessarily  very  uncertain. 

11 


iiii 


4iiii|^- 


A'i 


i'nm"' 


:.^-.  ■'•'■'« 


'•Vi 


!  ft?  t. 


!i 


82 


INTRODUCTION. 


! 


P' 


be  indiflcrcnt.  My  iinpiessiou  is  equally  strong,  thai 
it  would  [uoniote  essentially  the  seeurity  and  happi- 
ness of  the  tiibes  within  our  limits,  if  they  could  be  pre- 
vailed to  retire  west  and  north  of  our  states  and  terri- 
tories vMirrounded  as  they  are,  and  pressed  as  thc\ 
will  be  on  every  side  by  the  white  population,  it  will  be 
dithcult,  if  not  impossible  for  them,  with  their  kind  o! 
government,  to  sustain  order  among  them.*' 

The  cession  of  I  Louisiana  will  facilitate  to  the  Ame- 
ricans of  European  descent  the  execution  of  the  great- 
est designs.  They  have  already  made,  in  a  very  few 
years,  more  progress  towards  happiness  and  civiliza- 
tion than  Asia  has  made  for  many  centuries.  This  the\ 
have  done,  because  they  have  founded  the  social  state 
upon  its  true  basis;  because  they  have  been  the  first  to 
find  out  that  the  liico  of  the  world  in  "hanged  by  the 
great  discoveries  of  modern  times — the  mariner's  com- 
pass,— the  art  of  printing,  and  the  liberty  of  the  press,— 
the  abolition  of  the  slave  trade, — steam  navigation 
and  the  many  other  conquests  of  science  and  wisdom. 
whose  utility  can  no  longer  be  called  in  question. 

A  steam  boat  can  ascend  from  the  moutli  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi to  the  junction  of  the  Yellow  Stone  with  the 
Missouri,  a  distance  of  eight  hundred  leagues.  Mines 
of  coal,  the  indispensable  auxiliary  of  this  navigatiou, 
are  found  near  the  banks  of  the  rivers,  and  beds  of  thi? 
combustible  are  almost  on  the  suriiice  of  the  eartii. 

The  territory  washed  by  the  great  river  and  its  tri- 
butary streams  is  in  general  fertile,  and  is  in  exteii' 
three  or  four  times  the  size  (»f  France 


1  i*j. 


The  go 
called  rep 
republics, 
among  tlu 
much  as 
([uently  no 
more  rapi 
Cluirlestoi 
twccn  Coi 
racuse,  bul 
made  to  ai 

Newspa 
ty:  they  pu 
lions  of  re: 
from  the  I 
or  six  thoi 
and  famili( 
morning, 
of  newspa] 
which  an  ii 
^4iuire.  T 
concentrate 
mogenous ( 
as  well  as  i 
continent. 
shores  of  i 
This  great 
moving  rou 
about  to  be 
the  isthmus 


INTKODl  (  rif)\. 


a;i 


The  govcrnmcns  of  Greece  and  Rome,  Avhicli  were 
called  iej)ul)lican.  were  very  dilVerent  from  these  new 
republics.  Did  they  wisii  to  form  a  confederation 
among  tiiemselves?  Nothing  was  more  ditlicult,  inas- 
much as  they  iiad  not  the  same  institutions,  and  fre- 
quently not  even  the  same  customs.  There  is  not  only 
more  rapid  and  frc(iuent  intercourse  between  Boston, 
(liurleston,  and  New  Orleans,  than  ever  existed  be- 
tween Corinth  and  Athens,  or  between  Kome  and  Sy- 
racuse, but  their  respective  views  are  much  more  easily 
made  to  accord. 

Newspapers  constitute  a  power  unknown  to  antiqui-* 
ty:  they  put  questions  and  give  answers,  they  have  mil- 
lions of  readers,  and  the  orators  of  Rome  and  Greece 
from  the  height  of  a  tribune  could  only  address  live 
or  six  thousand  auditors.  A  journal  is  read  calndy, 
and  families  peruse  it  during  the  leisure  hours  of  the 
morning.  There  is  no  reason  to  fear  from  the  reading 
of  newspapers  the  sudden  and  unexi)ected  tumults, 
which  an  impetuous  tribune  could  excite  in  the  public 
square.  The  ancient  re[)ul)lics  were  almost  always 
concentrated  in  cities:  the  American  republic,  of  ho- 
mogenous elements  and  uniform  laws,  exists  in  villages 
as  well  as  in  large  cities,  and  extends  over  an  immense 
continent.  Its  progress  will  not  be  limited  even  by  the 
shores  of  the  vast  regions  discovered  bv  Columbus. 
This  great  man  believed  that  he  could  go  to  India  by 
inoviniT  round  the  globe  to  the  west.  His  design  is 
about  to  be  accomplished.  A  navigable  breach  through 
the  isthmus  which  joins  the  two  Americas  will  one  day 


W*l 


''M 


rii^ 


P*t 


1 1' Mil 


tm 


liP' 


;*«=H 


*l( 


84 


INTROmiCTIOX. 


be  opened  to  approximate  Kiiropc  and  Asia,  and  future 
ages  will  admire  this  triumph  of  science  over  nature. 

Panama,  or  rather  some  other  neighbouring  city,  will 
unite  the  deputies  of  thirty  repubhcs,  or,  to  speak  more 
correctly,  of  a  great  part  of  the  globe.  This  council 
will  confine  its  deliberations  to  the  interests  of  Ameri- 
ca, as  that  of  the  Amphictyons  did  to  those  of  Greece. 
But,  without  taking  any  active  part  in  the  events  ol 
Europe,  the  ini[)erial  and  royal  cabinets  must  expert 
that  its  example  will  have  an  inilucnce  there. 

It  is  in  the  boundless  regions  of  America  that  the 
human  race  may  henceforth  freely  multiply.  There. 
for  many  centuries,  want  will  not  throw  impediments 
in  the  way  oi'  the  conjugal  union,  nor  will  parents 
have  to  fear  that  the  earth  will  refuse  the  means  of 
support  to  those  to  whom  they  may  impart  existence. 

Wiio  can  contemplate,  without  vivid  emotions,  this 
spectacle  of  the  happiness  of  the  present  generation. 
the  certain  pledge  of  the  prosperity  of  numberless  ge- 
nerations that  will  follow.'*  At  these  magnificent  pros- 
pects, the  heart  beats  with  joy  in  the  breasts  of  those 
who  were  permitted  to  see  the  dawn  of  those  bright 
days,  and  who  arc  assured  that  so  many  iiappy  pre- 
sages will  be  accomplished.    I  had  that  good  fortune. 

I  have  readily  yielded  to  the  pleasure  of  rapidh 
sketching  the  picture  of  this  new  people,  but  [  will  no! 
venture  to  assert  that  they  are  secure  from  all  contin- 
gencies. Their  union  now  constitutes  their  strength. 
and  yet  there  are  between  the  northern  and  southern 
stateis,  principles  of  division  which  in  many  cases  em- 


barrass th 
states  wer( 
by  the  cavf 
not  effaced 
hereditary 
of  a  separa 
shock.  T 
uorth-eastc 
voted  to  a« 
twcen  the  i 
in  the  nort 
cultivating 
employ  the 
The  gov 
mcontestal 
individuals, 
IS  expedien 
classes  of  r 
exception, 
for  all  crea 
of  the  nor 
enjoyments 
price  of  tl 
very  is  the 
If  this  is  i 
irf  there,  a' 
tlian  «lave! 
what  \m»  I 
iity  years, 
^laverv,  I  v^ 


M 


IN'fRODLCTIO.N. 


U5 


barrass  the  most  prudent  statesmen.  The  northern 
states  were  founded  by  the  puritan:^,  tliose  of  the  south 
bytJje  cavaliers  or  royahsts.  A  century  and  a  haU'  has 
not  effaced  tlic  traces  of  tliis  diflerence  of  origin:  an 
hereditary  antipatliy  will  one  day  perhaps  be  the  cause 
of  a  separation  that  will  not  be  eflbcted  without  a  great 
shock.  The  arts  and  navigation  are  honoured  in  the 
north-eastern  states,  the  southern  are  principally  de- 
voted to  agriculture.  Hence  the  sources  of  rivalry  be- 
tween the  north  and  tht;  south.  Slavery  is  abolished 
in  the  north,  at  the  south  it  is  the  principal  means  of 
cultivating  the  soil.  Attempts  are  also  now  making  to 
employ  the  slaves  as  mechanics  and  in  manufactures. 

Tiic  government  of  the  United  States  holds,  as  an 
incontestable  maxim,  that  public  morality,  like  that  of 
mdividuals,  is  founded  on  doing  what  is  right,  not  what 
is  expedient.  This  rule  is  not,  however,  applied  to  all 
classes  of  men  without  distinction.  The  blacks  are  an 
exception.  Liberty  only  exists  without  restriction,  and 
lor  all  creatures  endowed  with  reason,  in  seven  or  eight 
of  the  north-eastern  states.  In  the  other  states,  the 
enjoyments  of  the  citizens  and  free  iidiabitanls  arc  the 
price  of  the  oppression  of  a  numerous  class,  and  sla- 
very is  the  condition  of  almost  two  millions  of  blacks. 
If  this  is  in  the  southern  states  u  means  of  riches,  it 
IS  there,  at  tl^o  same  time,  a  more  horrible  scourge 
than  slavery  ever  was  in  Europe.  AVithout  repeating 
wliat  has  been  r*>eclioed  by  so  many  voices,  during 
iifty  years,  respecting  the  injustice  and  barbarity  of 
slavery,  I  will  point  out  the  obstacles  which,  until  the 


iMi 


.|.ii 


■■^i 


«*«» 


>u. 


K 


06 


INTRODUCTIOiN. 


I 


present  time,  have  prevented  the  cftcctual  cure  of  this 
great  calamity,  and  the  dangers  to  which  the  masters 
themselves  are  exposed,  whether  they  either  maintain 
shivery  or  aholish  it. 

It  is  acknowledged  that  to  perpetuate  it  is  to  sup- 
port in  the  hosom  of  every  family  enemies,  who  are  hut 
too  well  aware  that  the  time  of  their  manumission  i< 
arrived.  They  arc  impatient  at  the  sight  of  three  huii- 
dred  thousand  freemen  of  their  own  race,  who,  in  tlic 
United  States  alone,  were  slaves  like  themselves.  Ir- 
ritated from  seeing  themselves  m  a  state  so  diHercnt 
from  that  of  their  fellow-hlacks,  they  sometimes  en- 
gage  in  secret  plots,  and  at  other  times  assemhle  in 
large  numhers  prepared  for  revolt.  The  mere  sound 
of  the  whip,  the  slightest  punishment,  makes  a  whole 
plantation  foam  with  rage.  Domestic  j)lots  and  at- 
tempts of  open  force,  alike  to  be  dreaded,  are  motive:; 
for  the  masters  to  draw  tighter  the  bonds  of  slavery. 
Humanity  and  justice,  liowever,  call  for  that  manumis- 
.sion,  which  was  formerly  so  useful  in  Europe.  But  it 
would  have,  in  America,  consequences  which  the 
emancipation  of  the  serfs  never  produced.  They,  as 
well  as  their  masters,  were  of  the  white  race.  No  na- 
tural mark  distinguished  the  free  born  man  from  the 
manumitted  slave;  the  amalgamation  was  easy,  and 
emancipation  having  put  an  end  to  all  political  distinc- 
tions, the  others  were  soon  effaced. 

In  America  distinctions,  humiliating  to  the  emanci- 
pated slaves,  still  separate  them  from  the  white  race. 
They  have  in  many  states  neither  the  right  of  voting 


ill  election 
ticc,  except 
public  en)| 
of  connect 
tlioy  are  on 
as  a  degra 
fused,  ncce 
nual  object 
end  lose 
the  anibitio 
rare  qualiti 
ters  disting 
into  the  "^r 
ta^^es  whicl 
virtues,  arc 
render  then 
[a  1827, 
United   Sta 
;]00,00()  fre 
that  of  free 
some  states 
parison  of  t 
render  it  su 
sion  could  i 
whites,  and 
other  hand, 
iind  of  the 
Ironi  the  a 
distinct,  an( 
'•':'rtv,  is  to 


INTKODLCTIOiV. 


87 


;il  elections,  nor  of  ^nviiij,'  cvitlcncc  in  courts  of  jus- 
tice, except  in  trials  iitnonj^  themselves.  Excluded  from 
public  einploynients,  and  deprived  of  the  opportunity 
of  coiuiectinfT  themselves  in  marria<re  with  the  whites, 
liicy  arc  only  half  citizens.  They  arc  every  where  held 
as  a  degraded  race,  and  this  opinion  universally  dif- 
fused, necessarily  dehases  and  corrupts  them.  Conti- 
nual ohjects  of  the  contem|)t  of  the  whites,  they  in  the 
end  lose  their  self-esteem;  elevated  sentiments  and 
the  ambition  of  rising  above  this  abject  condition,  arc 
rare  qualities  among  them.  If  some  superior  charac- 
ters distinguish  themselves,  they  arc  soon  pushed  back 
into  the  -^rowd:  it  may  even  happen  that  the  advan- 
ta»fcs  which  they  have  received  from  nature,  useless  as 
virtues,  arc  converted  into  vicious  inclinations,  which 
render  them  enemies  of  society. 

hi  1827,  there  were  in  the  southern  parts  of  the 
United  States  about  1,800,000  slaves,  and  at  least 
.)00,O0O  free  blacks.  The  number  of  slaves  was  to 
that  of  free  whites  in  the  proportion  of  one  to  two  in 
some  states,  and  of  one  to  three  in  others.  The  com- 
parison of  these  numbers,  and  the  dillerenco  of  colours 
render  it  sufficiently  manifest  thai  a  general  manumis- 
sion could  not  take  place  except  to  the  injury  of  the 
whites,  and  with  imminent  danger  to  them.  On  the 
other  hand,  reason  revolts  at  the  idea  of  a  mixed  race, 
and  of  the  degradation  which  would  necessarily  result 
Irom  the  amalgamation.  To  keep  the  two  classes 
distinct,  and  let  them  equally  enjoy  the  benefits  of  li- 
'•crty,  is  to  resolve  on  a  civil  war.     Difficulties  prcscui 


.»li 


hm 


0 


iW 


M 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


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2.2 


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L25  ill M  116 


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■» 


Hiotographic 

Sciences 

Corporation 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14580 

;  716)  872-4503 


Vx 


m. 


^ 


^ 


»8 


INTRODUCTION. 


themselves  on  nil  sides.  Moans  of  rendering  their  ii;. 
crease  less  rapid  have  been  sought  in  vain.  The  im- 
portation of  negroes  ceased  in  1808,  and  since  then  the 
white  population  has  augmented  faster  than  the  black; 
but,  at  the  south,  the  climate  is  favourable  to  the  in- 
crease of  the  people  of  African  descent.  Humanity 
has,  we  arc  assured,  rendered  their  treatment  more 
mild  in  most  of  the  plantations.  But  it  is  still  slavery. 
Emancipation  has  beco  ne  general  in  the  northern 
states,  without  being  favourable  to  the  increase  of  the 
blacks.  They  enjoy  there  all  the  rights  of  citizenship; 
but  their  number  is  so  small,  as  to  be  scarcely  re- 
marked. This  is  the  case  from  the  states  of  Maine 
and  New  Hampshire  to  those  of  Pennsylvania  and 
Delaware.  But  in  Maryland  and  the  other  southern 
states  the  number  continually  grows  larger,  and  it  has 
doubled  in  ten  years  in  many  families  of  slaves.  It 
diminislies,  on  the  contrary,  after  manumission,  and 
the  white  population  increases.  Slavery  in  all  its  ri- 
gours exists  in  these  states;  some  have  even  thought 
proper  to  prohibit  emancipation.  In  other  states,  in- 
dividuals have  liberated  all  their  slaves.  Washing- 
ton is  cited  among  those  who  first  set  this  example; 
but  it  is  acknowledged  that  this  generous  resolution 
had  its  inconveniences,  and  the  manumitted  slaves,  as 
I  have  just  said,  only  enjoy  a  part  of  the  civil  rights. 
Their  admission  to  the  legislative  assembly  would  lead 
sooner  or  later  to  the  emancipation  of  all.  The  ex- 
istence of  one  of  the  two  classes  would  be  jeopard- 
ed :    for    nature,  by  distinguishing   by  an    indelil 


)|r 


IMRODIJfTlON. 


«9 


mark  the  blacks  from  the  whites,  has  rendered  a  sin- 
cere recoiiciUalion  inipos.sible,  and  tliere  would  always 
be  reason  to  dread  the  extermination  of  the  weaker 
party.  In  the  meantime,  iniperlbct  liberty  by  the  side 
of  complete  liberty  is,  for  the  people  of  colour,  slavery 
Itself.  Alarmed  by  so  many  dangers,  some  statesmen 
have  attempted,  since  1815,  to  form  on  the  western 
coast  of  Africa  a  colony  of  free  blacks  born  in  America, 
and  thus  restore  to  this  part  of  the  world  the  inhabitants 
whom  America  formerly  received  from  thence.  For 
this  purpose,  expenditures  have  been  liberally  incurred. 
But  the  result  has  disappointed  the  hopes  that  were, 
at  first,  entertained.  The  blacks  themselves  regard 
tliis  exile  as  the  climax  of  their  misery.  Whether  it 
arises  from  aft'ection  for  the  country  which  rejects 
tliem,  or  from  fear  of  finding  slavery  in  Africa,  there 
were  scarcely  four  hundred  persons  in  this  colony  in 
11)26;  the  founders,  however,  begin  to  flatter  them- 
selves that  their  perseverance  will  triumph  over  all  ob- 
stacles, and  they  have  been  encouraged  by  the  last  re- 
ports which  have  been  made  to  them  of  the  condition 
of  Liberia. 

In  1823,  Boyer,  the  chief  of  the  republic  of  Hayti, 
also  invited  these  affranchised  blacks.  Offers  of  hospi- 
tality, and  the  certainty  of  obtaining  grants  of  lands 
seemed  calculated  to  attract  them.  About  three  thou- 
sand were  induced  by  the  prospect  thus  held  out  to 
them;  but  they  were  idlers,  without  means,  who  ex- 
pected to  live  in  St.  Domingo,  wholly  without  labour. 
The  government  of  Hayti  was  soon  tired  of  these  use- 

13 


u 


id! 


pi*" 


H43 


90 


JNTKODICTION, 


less  and  exacting  guests.  President  Boycr  was  obliged 
to  witiidraw  the  advantages  which  he  had  announced. 
and  the  republic  gained  by  sending  them  back,  at  its 
own  expense,  to  the  United  States,  from  whence  they 
had  come.  Finally,  it  has  been  proposed  to  assign  to 
the  free  blacks  a  territory  in  America,  situated  to  the 
west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  at  a  great  distance 
from  the  whites.  This  project  has  met  with  the  strong- 
est opposition,  and  has  not  even  been  j)ut  to  the  trial. 
The  entire  race  detests  the  whites,  who  have  so  long 
oppressed  them.  Such  neighbours  would,  at  a  future 
day,  be  more  to  be  dreaded  than  the  savages.  The 
proximity  of  the  republic  of  Ilayti  inspires  the  United 
States  with  just  and  lively  alarms,  and  they  refuse  to 
acknowledge  the  independence  of  the  Haytians,  be- 
cause they  are  of  the  same  colour  with  their  slaves. 
When  the  desijins  of  nature  have  been  violated  for 
many  centuries,  the  best  intent'.u  "  every  where  meet 
with  difficulties. 

The  abolition  of  the  slave  trade  has  palliated  these 
evils;  but  they  are  always  very  great  ones,  and  while 
the  whites  arc  themselves  suH'ering  mconveniences 
from  the  faults  of  their  forefathers,  the  slave  remains 
without  consolation.  Another  distressing  considera- 
tion is,  that  slavery  constitutes  a  perpetual  cause  of  di- 
vision. The  inhabitants  of  the  north  hold  it  in  detes- 
tation, and  those  of  the  south  wish  in  vain  to  deliver 
their  country  from  it. 

This  irritation  was  manifested  in  an  alarming  manner, 
when  the  time  arrived  for  admitting  into  the  Union  the 


I\TKOI)l'fTI()>. 


y» 


liged 
need, 
at  its 

they 
gn  to 
o  tlie 
tancc 
rong. 

trial. 

long 
iiturc 

Tlie 
^nitcil 
sc  to 
3,  be- 
laves. 
d  tor 

nieel 

these 
while 
ences 
nains 
dera- 
of  di- 
letes- 
ehver 

nncr. 
n  the 


territory  of  Missouri,  which,  with  those  on  the  right 
bank  of  the  iVlissi^!.<ippi,  formed  a  part  of  ancient  Lou- 
isiana. Tlie  inhabitants  seriously  reckoned  among 
the  rights  of  man,  that  of  possessing  slaves.  The  op- 
ponents of  slavery  reproachfully  asked  them  in  reply; 
"Do  you,  who  enjoy  all  the  inestimable  advantages  of 
liberty,  while  slavery  still  alllicts  the  neighbouring 
states,  do  you  wish  to  introduce  it  in  a  new  sta*"^? 
These  regions,  which  have  never  seen  slaves,  will  re- 
ceive from  you  an  institution  that  has  become  the  hor- 
ror of  the  world,  and  is  the  most  abominable  one  that 
has  ever  dishonoured  society." 

The  Missourians  answered,  "  That  their  want  of 
.slaves  was  manifest,  and  that  necessity  made  the  law, 
that  congress  ought  not  to  interfere  in  the  formation 
of  a  state  constitution,  except  with  respect  to  its  re- 
publican character."  They  added,  that,  "if  it  was  in- 
tended to  oppose  obstacles  to  their  happiness,  they 
would  be  able  to  do  tlumselves  justice." 

The  general  constitution  of  the  United  States  has 
excepted  such  questions  from  the  number  of  those  on 
which  it  belongs  to  congress  to  pronounce.  It  dis- 
cusses, but  docs  not  decide  them. 

Some  ambitious  men  would  have  seen,  without 
regret,  these  discontents  produce  two  independent 
confederations; — one  to  the  north,  the  other  to  the 
south.  They  believed  it  possible  to  introduce  in  the 
northern  section  a  government  conformable  to  that  of 
England.     They  would  have  been  resigned  to  even 


V'l 


'  i 


P^^. 


92 


INTRODUCTION. 


have  had,  instead  of  hereditary  chiefs,  only  presidents 
for  Hfe.    The  south  would  have  preserved  its  laws.* 

If  the  separation  had  taken  place,  it  would  not  have 
overturned  the  most  beautiful  monument  of  liberty  that 
mankind  has  ever  erected;  but  the  strength  which 
union  necessarily  gives  to  growing  states  would  have 
been  lost,  and  England  would  probably  have  seen. 
without  regret,  a  division  in  the  bosom  of  the  only  ma- 
ritime power  that  she  has  reason  to  dread. 

After  three  years'  discussion,  the  menace  of  this  se- 
paration made  the  partisans  of  slavery  triumph.  It 
was  authorized  in  Missouri,  on  condition  that  the  slave? 
introduced  there  should  come  from  the  other  states  cl 
the  Union. 

Other  causes  will  weaken  for  a  still  longer  time  the 
advantages  offered  to  Europeans  in  this  part  of  the 
new  world.  If  no  property  attaches  them  to  the  soil 
of  Europe,  or,  if  tired  of  exhausting  their  strength  in 
the  cultivation  of  a  few  acres  of  land,  they  go  to  Ame- 
rica in  quest  of  extensive  plantations,  the  clearing  of  thi 

*  On  matters  of  opinion,  where  he  has  diftercd  from  the  author. 
the  translator  has  not  in  general  deemed  it  within  Sis  province  to 
ofter  any  comment.  He  cannot,  however,  be  accessory  to  the  pub- 
lication of  this  book  in  America,  without  alluding  to  the  mistake, 
that  is  entertained  abroad  respecting  the  views  of  those  who  took 
part  in  the  Missouri  controversy.  Without  referring  to  the  merits 
of  the  question,  it  may  be  confidently  asserted  that  no,  member  of 
either  house  of  congress,  during  its  discussion,  looked  to  the  sepa 
ration  of  the  Union  as  a  consequence  of  the  vote  that  he  was  about 
to  give.  In  both  the  parties  to  which  that  dispute  gave  rise,  were 
to  be  seen  men  of  the  purest  patriotism  and  most  elevated  view?. 
who  honestly  differed  on  a  point  of  public  policy. — Transl. 


INTRODl/CTION. 


93 


dents 

have 

y  that 

which 

have 

seen. 

y  ma- 

Ills  sc- 
>h.  h 
slave.* 
itcs  ol 

no  the 
of  the 
ic  soil 
gth  ill 
Amc- 
of  the 

autliui. 
incc  to 
he  pub- 
liiistake, 
ho  touk 
;  merits 
mber  ol 
le  sepa- 
ls about 
,e,  were 
1  view 


land  will  require  on  their  part  indefatigable  courage. 
The  more  ^ertile  the  land  is,  the  more  reason  is  there 
to  fear  its  unhealthfu'.ness.  Those  dreadful  maladies, 
from  which  Europe  is  not  even  at  this  day  exempt, 
produce  fatal  and  rapid  ravages  in  countries  where 
new  clearings  expose  to  frequent  changes  of  tempera- 
ture and  great  humidity.  Fevers,  as  dangerous  as  the 
plague,  have  within  a  few  years  appeared  in  those  re- 
gions. Friends,  even  neighbours,  cannot  easily  visit 
one  another.  It  is  sometimes  necessary  to  renounce 
tor  a  long  season  that  social  intercourse,  which  in  our 
poorest  villages  renders  the  greatest  misery  supporta- 
ble. To  the  tediousness  of  solitude  are  joined  the  ri- 
gours of  winter.  Rains  and  drought  endanger  the  ex- 
istence of  the  newly  arrived  planter.  He  has  settled 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  a  river,  the  shores  of  vhich 
lie  has  seen  enriched  with  green  meadows.  Twenty 
years  of  peaceable  possession  have  successively  en- 
couraged him  to  enlarge  his  estate.  Bw  a  scorching 
summer  comes  on;  melted  snows  descend  in  torrents 
from  the  tops  of  the  mountains;  the  brooks  suddenly 
swell  the  rivers;  the  waters  rise  in  a  few  hours  to  fif- 
teen or  eighteen  feet  above  their  natural  bed;  one  day 
destroys  the  labours  of  long  years;  flocks,  barns,  and 
dwelling  houses  are  all  carried  off*  by  the  flood,  and 
the  planter  is  not  always  able  even  to  save  himself  and 
family. 

Other  emigrants  begin  to  settle,  without  having  pro- 
vided necessaries  to  support  them  after  .1  bad  harvest. 
One  description  of  insects  destroys  their  crops,  while 


%^.. 


i 


'     1      R ». 


?  •*.! 


94 


IXTROUI  CTIO.V. 


Others,  more  to  be  dreaded,  attach  themselves  by 
swarms  to  tlie  hihourer  en^jja^rcd  in  clearing  the  new 
hmd,  and  by  their  many  acute  stinj^s  occasion  torments 
unknown  in  Kurope.  The  lands  near  the  Missouri  arc 
sometimes  torn  u|)  by  frightful  earthquakes.  When 
the  swellings  of  this  river  unite  with  those  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi,  they  destroy  the  embardvuients  wliich  nature 
or  art  has  formed  along  their  shores:  tiie  inundation 
enters  through  vast  breaches,  and  extending  thirty 
leagues  from  the  river,  kills  the  cattle  and  lays  waste 
the  cultivated  fields. 

Of  all  the  inconveniences  to  wliich  a  family  com- 
mencing a  settlement  is  subject,  the  neighbourhood  of 
the  savages  is  most  to  be  dreaded.  Some  are  fero- 
cious, and  disposed  to  acts  of  treachery  even  in  the 
midst  of  peace,  and  carry  on  war  for  the  most  futile 
causes.  Some  tribes  preserve  the  horrible  custom  of 
eating  tlieir  prisoners.  The  settlers  are  obliged,  after 
the  fatigues  of  the  day,  to  keep  guard  against  sudden 
attacks  during  the  night,  and  tliey  sometimes  watch  in 
vain.  The  Indians  look  out  for  the  moment  when  the 
head  of  the  family  is  absent,  in  order  to  cut  the  throats 
of  his  wife  and  children:  they  carry  ofl'or  disperse  the 
cattle,  and  set  fire  to  the  barns  and  crops.  It  has  been 
vainly  attempted  to  meliorate  their  customs  by  educa- 
tion. Ignorance  is  dear  to  them,  and  from  Algiers  to 
the  hut  of  an  Osage,  ignorance  has  for  its  companions 
barbarism  and  all  the  vices. 

We  see  hi  our  sacred  books  man  already  civilized 
and  religious  from  the  very  origin  of  the  world.    The 


IN  IKODLCTION. 


9.> 


brutislinesa  of  the  sava^rcs  obliges  us  to  assign  tlieni,  if 
not  a  more  aiicienl,  at  least  an  unknown  origin.  It  is 
with  such  tribes  tliat  we  sliould  commence  the  history 
ol  tlie  human  species.  It  appear.^  to  be  still  nearer  its 
cradle  among  the  iiordes  of  Austrf  !asia  tiian  witli  the 
inhabitants  of  tiie  banks  of  the  Missouri.  The  ditfer- 
ciice,  iicvvcver,  only  consists  in  the  degrees  of  igno- 
rance and  ferocity. 

Every  thing  autliorizcs  us  to  predict  the  end  of  these 
calamities,  and  the  great  events  wijicii  are  now  pass- 
ing in  America,  call  the  views  of  statesmen  to  an  ap- 
})roachin<r  melioration.  This  immense  country  is  no 
longer  dependent  on  Kurope.  From  tjie  Atlantic  to 
the  Pacific  Ocean,  rapid  changes  bear  glorious  testi- 
mony to  the  progress  of  the  new  world.  Numerous 
republics  daily  make  new  advances,  and  it  is  thus  that 
the  guarantees  of  happiness  in  the  civilized  world  in- 
crease. Let  us,  then,  prepare  for  the  most  important 
changes.  Let  the  hope  of  retaining  the  people  in  sla- 
very by  the  aid  of  ignorance  be  abandoned.  Let  us 
submit,  without  regret,  to  a  happy  necessity,  and  let 
us  acknowledge  that  limited  and  constitutional  monar- 
chies, far  from  having  to  dread  libertv,  will  find  in  it 
their  firmest  support,  and  a  bulwark  against  licentious- 
ness and  revolts. 

I  will  explain,  before  concluding  this  essay,  how  the 
United  States  have  been  able  to  make  so  great  pro- 
gress in  so  short  a  time. 

From  the  year  1787,  the  period  when  the  constitu- 
tion received  its  last  form,  tho  jC  who  presided  over  the 


;!J! 


I 


f  •,■  * 


i)0 


IMRODUMIO.N. 


public  aOairs  directed  all  tlicir  attention  to  the  mcan^ 
of  securing  the  benefits  ol*  tlio  new  system  for  every 
class  of  citizens.  'J'he  diminution  of  the  fiscal  char^fc: 
appeared  to  them  the  necessary  consequence  of  the 
return  of  peace.  The  long  agitations  of  their  revolu- 
tion had  ceased,  and  the  resolution  of  faithfully  paying' 
the  public  <lebt  tran<|uillized  all  minds.  They  were 
careful  in  all  their  negotiations  not  to  contract  any  en- 
gagement t))at  could  oblige  them  to  take  part  in  Eu- 
ropean quarrels.  But  Europe  came  to  seek  them,  and 
they  could  not  remain  isolated.  It  was  in  1793  that 
those  beautiful  maxims  of  neutrality  were  proclaimed, 
the  sincerity  and  advantage  of  whr:h  an  experience  ot 
thirty-five  years  attests.  Some,  however,  professed 
their  admiration  for  the  principles  of  our  revolution, 
though  they  entirely  condemned  the  acts  which  dis- 
lionoured  it:  others  appeared  as  the  open  partisans  ol 
England.  Congress  was  obliged  to  declare  war  ra- 
ther against  the  directory  than  tf.e  people  of  France. 
Napoleon  had  hardly  seized  the  helm,  when  he  ac- 
knowledged the  great  impolicy  of  this  war.  He  made 
peace  in  1800,  but  the  Americans  only  signed  it  on  con- 
dition of  preserving  the  principle  of  neutrality.  This 
system  secured,  during  five  or  six  years,  to  their  mer- 
chant-marine the  commerce  of  the  richest  portions  of 
the  globe.  England  and  France,  however,  soon  irri- 
tated at  their  success  and  jealous  of  their  great  pros- 
perity, attacked,  both  at  the  same  time,  navigators 
enriched  by  the  (juarrels  of  Europe.  The  American 
government,  in  the  midst  even  of  its  harassing  difficul- 


ties, cfte 
then  that 
incrce  foj 
affairs  of 
of  the  W( 
The  Ai 
troductioi 
because  t 
acquired 
rect  taxes 
Mr.  Madi 
anew  to  in 
themselvr 
should  be 
oppositioi 
manifestei 
Kurope  pi 
president 
self,  in  hi; 
taxes:  he 
equalled,  \ 
sors.  It  \ 
prosperity 
to  assume 
and  navig 
republics, 
are  appea 
served  the 
which  her 
cceded  an 


INTRODUCTION'. 


U7 


tiof?,  cflbctually  pcrscvcrc<l  in  its  maxims,  and  it  was 
then  that  it  was  indebted  to  its  navigation  and  com- 
merce for  the  ascendency,  wliicli  it  acquired  in  all  the 
iiflTairs  of  America,  as  well  as  for  its  influence  in  those 
of  the  world  at  large. 

The  Americans  consider  taxes  imposed  on  the  in- 
troduction of  foreign  productions  less  burdensome, 
because  they  pay  them  only  indirectly.  Mr.  Jefferson 
acquired  great  popularity  by  substituting  them  for  di- 
rect taxes,  real  and  personal.  The  war  of  1812  obliged 
Mr.  Madison,  who  succeeded  him,  to  have  recourse 
anew  to  internal  taxation ;  but  this  people  would  consider 
themselves  no  longer  lice,  if  the  weight  of  the  imposts 
should  become  disproportionate  to  their  ability.  The 
opposition,  which  was  then  only  the  English  party,  again 
manifested  great  activity,  when  the  return  of  peace  in 
Kiirope  put  an  end  to  this  source  of  excitement.  A  new 
president  of  the  United  States,  Mr.  Monroe,  found  him- 
self, in  his  turn,  in  a  situation  to  lighten  the  internal 
taxes:  he  returned  to  import  duties:  his  popularity 
equalled,  and  perhaps  surpassed,  that  of  his  predeces- 
sors. It  was  under  his  peaceable  government  that  the 
prosperity  which  now  astonishes  the  world  was  seen 
to  assume  new  channels.  Agriculture,  manufactures, 
and  navigation  animate  all  the  parts  of  these  numerous 
republics.  The  vio'snce  and  animosities  of  the  parties 
are  appeased.  Both  have,  by  different  means,  equally 
served  the  state,  and  to  the  almost  hostile  dispositions 
which  heretofore  distinguished  each  of  them  has  suc- 
ceeded an  emulation,  which,  by  increasing  the  fortunes 

13 


1   I 


i 


;0 


:  .t 


98 


INTUODK  TIOV. 


of  individuals,  contributes  to  the  general  prosperity. 
The  great  riches  acquired  by  commerce  arc  applied 
to  vast  undertakings. 

The  population  increases  at  a  rate  which  surpasses 
all  conjectures.  The  citizens  enjoy  an  entire  liberty  of 
conscience,  and  no  where  are  more  families  to  be  seen 
sincerely  religious.  Political  equality  is  perfect  among 
them,  but  it  docs  not  exclude  the  consideration  and 
respect  that  are  the  attendants  on  personal  services 
and  merit. 

To  what  arc  such  glorious  advantages  to  be  attri- 
buted.'* To  the  goodness  of  the  laws  and  the  wisdom 
of  the  government. 

Wc  have  seen  Bonaparte  overturn  and  build  up 
thrones  at  his  pleasure.  If  these  sports  of  his  prodi- 
gious power  had  for  their  object  the  debasement  ol 
royalty,  he  was  greatly  deceived.  It  is  true  that  he 
has  irretrievably  destroyed  that  great  mystery  of  power, 
which  gave  to  monarchs  a  supernatural  and  almost  di- 
vine existence.  It  is  well  known  at  this  day  that  thcv 
are  men  like  ourselves;  but  nothing  can  take  from 
them  a  proud  prerogative,  a  privilege,  the  loss  of  which 
would  carry  with  it  their  destruction.  I  mean  the  ob- 
ligation of  being  just,  virtuous,  and  good,  under  the 
penalty  of  behig  deemed  incapable  of  reigning;  and  it 
is  thus  that  the  maxim,  so  often  false,  "  that  kings  can 
do  no  wrong,"  has  become  true. 

In  writing  this  essay  it  has  several  times  occurred  to 
me,  that  my  remarks  might  be  regarded  in  the  light  of 
allegories  imagined  by  timid  moralists  to  moderate  the 


INTRODUCTFON. 


99 


rcvcrity  of  their  counscln.  Sucli  has  not  been  my  in- 
tention. How  is  it  possible  to  assimilate  tlic  condition 
of  America  with  that  of  Kurope?  How  can  wc  pre- 
tend to  treat  in  the  same  maimer  a  country  where 
boundless  and  fertile  territories  will  present  themselves 
for  more  than  a  thousand  years  to  the  activity  and 
wants  of  man  and  our  Europe,  where  five  families  out 
of  six  are  wholly  destitute?  I  have  wished,  I  say  it 
frankly,  I  have  wished  that  it  should  be  admitted  thai 
there  are  no  great  distinctions  between  the  principles 
of  monarchies  and  those  of  republics. 

The  sovereign,  whether  called  king,  magistrate  or 
people,  can  henceforth  only  govern  by  the  aid  of  re- 
spect for  political  liberty.  There  cannot  be  mis- 
chievous magistrates  in  the  United  States,  and  it  ap- 
pears to  me  that  there  can  no  longer  be  mischievous 
kings  in  Europe.  The  love  of  nations  for  good  kings 
is  formed  as  naturally  as  that  of  children  for  their  pa- 
rents. The  citizens  of  a  republic  have  not  the  same 
kind  of  affection  for  their  magistrates;  but  they  have 
confidence  in  their  wisdom,  and  they  are  attached  to 
a  constitution  of  which  they  every  day  experience  the 
l)enefits.  It  depends  on  the  princes,  who  now  reign 
over  the  nations  of  Europe,  to  unite  all  these  advan- 
tages. They  will  then  taste  the  highest  felicity  which 
can  be  the  lot  of  man  on  earth,  that  of  making  nume- 
rous generations  liappy.  Educated  in  the  maxims  of 
wisdom  and  virtue,  and  firmly  resolved  always  to  prac- 
tise them,  they  will  soon  inspire  their  courtiers  with 
the  love  of  them.    The  people  in  turn  will  be  eager  to 


i| 


H^* 


100 


INTRODUCTION. 


follow  the  example  of  the  prince.  Morality  will  re- 
sume its  empire.  Expenditures  for  luxury  and  public 
festivals  will  cease  to  be  held  in  honour.  Whatever  is 
extravagant  in  the  different  modes  of  government,  se- 
parately considered,  will  be  moderated  by  skilfully  com- 
bining them,  and  ail  voices  will  unite  to  proclaim  the 
excellence  of  monarchical  government. 


11  re- 
ublic 
rex  is 
t,  sc- 
com- 
i  tljc 


THE 


HISTORY   OF   JLOnSIAJ^A. 


i 


PART  I. 


1  -  ■ 


LOUISIANA  UNDER  THE  SOVEREIGNTV  OF  FKANTE  AND  SPAIN. 
THR  RELATIONS  OF  THE  COLONY  WITH   SAINT  DOMINGO. 


■.'.4' 


uu 


LOUISIANA  1 
THE  RE] 

The  his 
extend  to  1 
pation  by  J 
by  the  na 
searches,  i 
moved  the 
loped.  Tl 
sence  of  j 
between  th 
people  in 
however,  b 
ed  or  acci( 
this  source 
dications  c 
tions  more 
were  founc 
more  ancie 


THE 


HISTORY  OF  LOnSIAXA. 


PART   THE   FIRST. 


LOtriSIANA  UNDER  THE  SOVEREIGNTY  OP  FRANCE  AND  SPAIN. — 
THE  RELATIONS  OF  THE  COLONY  WITH  SAINT  DOMINGO. 

The  history  on  which  we  are  about  to  enter  will  not 
extend  to  the  indigenous  tribes,  who,  before  its  occu- 
pation by  Europeans,  inhabited  the  country  now  known 
by  the  name  of  Upper  and  Lower  Louisiana.  Re- 
searches, made  with  the  greatest  care,  have  not  re- 
moved the  obscurity  in  which  their  origin  is  still  enve- 
loped. Their  traditions  are  contradictory.  In  the  ab- 
sence of  authentic  documents,  analogies  are  sought 
between  their  respective  languages  and  those  of  other 
people  in  different  parts  of  the  globe.  So  few  have, 
however,  been  discovered,  that  are  not  either  contest- 
ed or  accidental,  that  no  inference  can  be  drawn  from 
this  source.  Many  rude  monuments  aflbrd  certain  in- 
dications of  the  existence,  at  a  former  period,  of  na- 
tions more  populous  and  less  ignorant  than  those  which 
were  found  there  by  our  ancestors.  But  even  these 
more  ancient  aborigines  had  made  very  inconsiderable 


* 


*fl 


>& 


104 


THE  HISTORY 


progress  in  civilization^  it  is,  indeed,  doubtful  whether 
after  having  advanced  some  steps,  they  did  not  retro- 
grade or  become  the  conquest  of  a  race  still  more  bar- 
barous. 

About  a  century  and  a  half  has  elapsed  since  a 
French  colony,  under  the  name  of  Louisiana,  was 
founded  on  the  Mississippi.  This  settlement  lan- 
guished till  within  a  recent  period,  and  if  the  treaties 
by  which  Napoleon  ceded  it  to  the  United  States  offer 
matter  for  a  particular  narrative,  it  is  because  the  con- 
sequences of  that  measure  are  already  of  the  greatest 
importance  to  those  states,  to  all  America,  and  even  to 
Europe. 

.  The  sea-coasts,  islands,  and  mouths  of  rivers  have 
long  been  the  first  spots  noticed  by  those  who  have 
gone  in  search  of  new  regions.  The  countries  of 
which  we  shall  treat  were  discovered  by  exploring  the 
interior,  at  a  distance  of  more  than  three  hundred 
leagues  from  the  mouth  of  the  great  river  which  tra- 
verses them. 

In  1672,  the  French,  who  had  been  settled  a  century 
in  Canada,*  learned  from  the  Indians  that  there  were, 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  great  lakes,  the  sources 
of  a  river  which  flowed  towards  the  south,  crossing 
magnificent  forests :  they  called  it  Namesi-si-pou,  that 
is  to  say,  the  river  of  fishes.    Th<  y  added  that  those 

*  The  coasts  of  Canada  were  discovered  by  the  French  in  1504. 
Cartier  sailed  up  the  St.  Lawrence  in  1534,  and  took  possession  ot 
the  country  in  the  name  of  His  Most  Christian  Majesty.  Quebec 
was  founded  by  M.  de  Champlain  in  1604.— Transl. 


OF  LOUISIANA. 


105 


lether 
retro- 
e  bar- 

nce  a 
,  was 
t  laii< 
eaties 
3  oflfer 
B  con- 
eatest 
vento 

i  have 
>  have 
ies  of 
ig  the 
ndred 
h  tra- 

ntury 
were, 
mrces 
>ssing 
,  that 
those 


vast  regions  had  never  been  visited  by  tlie  white  na- 
tion. One  hundred  and  eighty  years  had  elapsed  since 
Colunnbus  discovered  America,  and  yet  the  course  of 
tliis  river  was  so  little  known,  that  many  placed  its 
mouth  in  the  Vermilion  .Sea,  between  Mexico  and  Ca- 
lifornia. Some  intelligent  travellers  set  out  in  1(37:5 
iVom  Quebec  to  explore  this  country:  they  descended 
the  Mississippi  to  the  mouth  of  the  river  of  .he  Ar- 
kansas, which  is  to  the  right  of  the  "reat  river,  and 
empties  into  it  in  about  the  .iJd  degree  of  latitude. 
The  accounts  which  they  gave,  on  their  return,  to 
Count  Frontenac,  governor  of  Canada,  did  not  permit 
him  to  doubt  the  importance  of  the  discovery.  La 
Salle,  his  successor,  was  authorized  to  examine  the 
country  himself. 

In  1 679,  proceeding  from  the  north  towards  the  south, 
he  advanced  as  far  as  the  river  of  the  Illinois,  which 
he  called  Seignelai,  a  title  ^lat  it  did  not  long  retain. 
The  name  of  Colbert,  given  to  the  Mississippi,  was 
likewise  soon  forgotten.  La  Salle  was  accompanied  by 
Hennepin,  a  F'ranciscan  monk,  a  man  of  considerable 
acquirements,  and  inured  to  the  hardships  inseparable 
from  travelling  in  unexplored  regions.  Tliis  person 
was  subsequently  intrusted  with  the  charge  of  an  ex- 
pedition that  w'ent  to  the  north,  following  the  upper 
branch  of  the  Mississippi;  he  published  an  account  of 
his  travels.  Other  similar  works  also  appeared,  all 
of  which  attracted  general  observation.  These  narra- 
tives contained  no  exaggerated  statements,  and  Louis 

XIV.  was  led  by  them  to  entertain  views  in  accordance 

11 


V 

I 


iii^ 


100 


IHK  HISTOK^ 


with  the  principles  of  the  colonial  system,  which  then 
began  to  be  adopted  by  all  the  maritime  powers.  A 
more  considerable  expedition  was  determined  on;  and. 
in  1682,  La  Salle  descended  the  Mississippi  with  sixty 
men.  He  stopped  in  the  country  of  the  Chickasaw?, 
where  he  built  fort  Purd'homme,  after  which  he  pursued 
his  journey  and  reached  the  great  gulf.  Delighted 
with  the  beauty  of  the  countries  which  he  liad  seen. 
he  gave  them  the  name  of  Louisiana.  On  his  return 
to  France,  he  proposed  to  the  government  to  unite  to 
Canada  the  discovery  which  he  had  just  made,  and 
thus  secure  to  Fiance  the  sovereignty  of  the  territo- 
ries in  the  interior,  situated  between  the  northern  sea 
and  the  Gulf  of  iMexico,  into  which  the  Mississippi 
falls.  This  vast  and  magnificent  project  was  favoura- 
bly received  by  Louis  XIV.  It  was  even  at  that  time 
perceived  that  the  colony,  which  was  about  being 
founded,  might  effectually  contribute  to  the  advance- 
ment of  St.  Domingo.  La  Barre,  governor  of  Cana- 
da, was  ordered  "to  keep  up  a  regular  correspondence 
with  the  governor  of  the  French  islands  in  the  gull. 
as  these  colonies  might  derive  very  great  benefit  from 
a  reciprocal  trade  in  their  staple  productions."  In 
1684,  it  was  supposed  that  advantage  might  be  taken 
of  the  truce,  which  had  then  just  been  signed  between 
France  and  Spain.  La  Salle  set  sail  from  La  Rochelie 
with  two  hundred  and  eighty  persons,  one  hundred  ot 
whom  were  soldiers,  and  with  every  thing  necessarv 
for  a  new  settlement.  But,  deceived  in  his  reckoning, 
he  passed  the  mouths  of  the  Mississippi  without  being 


OF  LOUISIANA. 


J  07 


aware  of  it,  and  landed  on  tiic  18th  of  February,  1G85, 
one  hundred  and  twenty  leagues  beyond  thein  in  the 
bay  of  St.  Bernard.  He  took  possession  of  the  country, 
built  forts,  placed  garrisons  in  them,  and  the  post  of 
St.  Louis  acquired  some  importance.  This  brave  of- 
ficer  was  assassinated  a  year  afterwards  by  some  of 
tiie  men  employed  in  the  expedition,  who  feared  the 
severity  which  their  culpable  conduct  had  deserved. 
Other  detachments,  under  the  authority  of  the  king  of 
France,  then  reconnoitred  these  countries  in  diflerent 
directions,  and  a  few  feeble  colonies  were  established. 
^V'ar  was  declared  between  France  and  Spain  in  1()89, 
and  interrupted  these  attempts  till  1698,  when  peace 
was  restored.  During  this  interval,  the  planters,  de- 
prived of  aid  from  the  motlier  country,  Iiad  made  no 
progress. 

In  1699,  D'Ibbcrville,  a  brave  and  intelligent  adven- 
turer, was  sent  to  the  Mississippi  to  establish  a  new 
colony  there  and  be  its  governor.*  The  country,  of 
which  possession  was  taken  in  the  name  of  France, 
extended  from  the  mouth  of  the  Mobile,  which  crosses 
Florida,  to  the  bay  of  St.  Bernard.  The  occupation 
was  hardly  contested  by  the  Spaniards,  and  the  rela- 
tions of  amity  and  common  interest  which  were  esta- 


■     -IS 

ill 


\h. 


*  It  is  mentioned  in  a  Memoir  of  the  Count  de  Vergennes,  laid 
before  Louis  XVI.  during  the  war  of  the  American  revolution,  that 
in  September,  1699,  the  English,  conducted  by  some  French  de- 
serters, came  in  a  vessel  of  twelve  guns  to  explore  the  mouths  of 
the  Mississippi,  but  were  compelled  to  retire  by  the  Chevalier  de 
Bienville,  (the  brother  of  D'Ibberville,)  who  commanded  a  post 
which  was  then  already  established  on  that  livcr. — Transl. 


,  i> 


loa 


Tilt:  iiinToin 


blished  at  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century  be- 
tween the  two  kingdoms,  put  an  end  to  any  claims  on 
the  part  of  tlie  court  of  Madrid.  There  was,  liowc- 
vcr,  no  settlement  ol"  boundaries,  and  it  appears,  that, 
on  the  one  side,  tlie  Spaniards  were  ahaid  tiiat,  il'thcy 
were  accurately  described,  they  would  have  to  consent 
to  s<  me  concessions;  and,  on  the  other,  the  French 
were  unwilling  to  limit,  by  precise  terms,  their  possible 
extension  of  territory. 

At  the  same  time,  the  English  colonies,  founded 
twenty  or  thirty  years  before,  were  beginning  to  pros- 
per.     Their  charters  granted  to  them  the  countries 
which  extend,  between  iixed  parallels  of  latitude,  from 
the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific  Ocean.     These  colonists 
did  not.  however,  advance  their  settlenients  beyond  the 
Alleghany  mountains.      This  chain  and  a  few  rivers 
were  the  first  bou'. uiaries  between  the  French  colonics 
and  those  of  England,  which,  having  attained  t'^eir  hi- 
dependence,  are  at  this  day  known  as  a  powerful  and 
happy  nation,  under  the  name  of  the  United  States. 
At  the  origin  of  their  settlements,  the  planters,  who 
had  come  from  England,  fnuhng  fertile  lands  on  the 
sea-coast,  or  at  a  short  distance  from  it,  were  in  no 
hurry  to  advance  towards  the  mountains.      No  one 
then  ioresavv  that  these  colonies,  flourishing  as  a  con- 
sequence of  their  good  laws,  would  be  the  first  to  et- 
fect  their  indejjendence;  that  their  caravans  would  one 
day  extend  beyond  the  Mississippi,  and  penetrate  by 
discoveries  and  settlements  in  the  interior  to  the  west- 
ern coast,  where  it  is  washed  by  the  Northern  Ocean 


The  laws  g 
intended  tc 
rapidity  of 
and  almost 
under  the  c 
vcrnment, 
Paris  polic 
of  the  I'ttii 
rich  financ 
twelve  yeai 
nois,  the  W 
these  lettei 
those  of  S 
these  desig 
ters  patent 
which  the 
served.    It 
versed  by  tl 
France;  ar 
notion  of  v 
the  colony 
burden.    1 
much  bett( 
which  certj 
of  the  law 
the  mouths 
sources. 

Crozat  s 
than  the  m 
and,  so  far 


OF  F-Ol  I^FANA. 


lOi^ 


The  laws  given  to  the  colony  of  Louisiana  socined  to  be 
intended  to  perpetuate  its  dependence,  by  cliecking  the 
rapidity  of  its  progress.  The  care  of  peopling  this  new 
and  almost  uninhabited  country,  instead  of  being  placed 
under  the  charge  of  the  superior  departments  of  the  go- 
vernment, was  principally  confided  to  the  agents  of  the 
Paris  police.  Louis  XIV.,  howc  or,  by  letters  patent 
of  the  11th  of  September,  1712,  granted  to  Crozat,  a 
ricii  financier,  the  exclusive  trade  of  the  colony  for 
twelve  years.  The  names  of  the  Mississippi,  the  Illi- 
nois, the  Wabash,  and  the  Missouri  were  suppressed  in 
these  letters.  It  was  attempted  to  replace  them  by 
those  of  St.  Louis,  St.  Stephen,  and  St.  Jerome;  but 
these  designations,  imagined  by  the  authors  of  the  let- 
ters patent,  are  no  longer  remembered.  Those  to 
which  the  Indians  were  accustomed  have  been  pre- 
served. It  was  not  then  known  that  the  countries  tra- 
versed by  these  rivers  are  several  times  as  extensive  as 
France;  and  the  government  had  only  a  very  vague 
notion  of  what  it  was  granting.  It  made  a  present  of 
the  colony  to  Crozat,  or  rather  it  relieved  itself  of  a 
burden.  The  limits  of  Louisiana  were  not  afterwards 
much  better  defined;  but  agreeably  to  the  practice, 
which  certain  maritime  powers  had  made  a  principle 
of  the  law  of  nations,  the  effect  of  the  occupation  of 
the  mouths  of  the  rivers  and  streams  extended  to  their 
sources. 

Crozat  showed  that  he  was  more  of  a  statesman 
than  the  ministers.  His  plans  were  wisely  conceived, 
nnd.  so  far  as  depended  on  him,  lie  sent  to  the  new  co- 


rfl 


^U 


m 


■. -J    '* , 


U 


4tl:i 


110 


TiiK  lilSTOKV 


lony  only  robust  and  industrious  people,  and  some  poor 
faniilios,  recoinruL'ndcd  by  tlicir  good  morals,  who 
were  indeed  the  only  settlers  that  succeeded.  Ik", 
nig,  liovvever,  soon  tired  of  iiis  privilege,  and  of  the 
great  advances  which  the  iirst  settlements  required,  he 
renounced  the  grant.  He  gave  it  up  in  1717,  and  the 
regent  transferred  the  colony  to  the  company  of  the 
west.*  Louisiana  did  not  rise  under  this  new  govern- 
ment from  the  state  of  languor  in  which  it  had  re- 
mained since  its  discovery.  But  the  exaggerations  and 
falsehoods  of  a  few  travellers  ascribed  to  it  riclies  in 
mines  of  gold  and  silver  superior  to  those  of  Mexico 
and  Peru. 

The  deplorable  state  of  the  French  finances  led  the 
people,  and  even  the  ministers,  into  these  illusions,  and 
they  indulged  them  with  an  ardour  which  was  soon 
communicated  to  other  countries. 

A  foreigner  of  an  eccentric  mind,  though  a  skilful 
calculator,  had  engaged  the  regent  in  operations  the 
most  disastrous  possible  to  the  finances  of  a  state.  John 
Law,  after  having  persuaded  creduloui  oeople  that  pa- 
per money  might  advantageously  ta'e  the  place  of  spe- 
cie, drew  from  this  false  principle  the  most  extravagant 
consequences.  They  were  adopted  by  ignorance  and 
cupidity,  and  perhaps  by  Law  ..imself,  for  he  was  frank 
and  high-minded,  even  in  his  errors. 

There  were,  however,  some  men  who  were  not  de- 
ceived, and  many  members  of  the  parliament  of  Paris 
opposed  to  these  illusions  the  lessons  of  experience. 

*  The  letters  patent  arc  dated  Auj;ust,  1717. 


fiieir  pru 
cccdcd  in 
stock  was 
were  cone 
These  chii 
differ  mud 
in  the  pres 
Iiave  asscr 
violations 
rosuit  of  a 
had  only  c( 
.1  debt  whc 
cannot  ad( 
iliat,  after  J 
prince  and 
palliate  one 
the  public 
according 
have  been 
tice  of  the 
the  public  ( 
may  be  the 
sociated  wi 
the  lapse  o; 
country  ha 
name. 

We  will 
system;  it  i 
an  apparen 
'he  compai 


or  M)risi.\N.\. 


Ill 


riicir  prudence  w.is  without  effect.  John  Law  suc- 
ceeded in  persuadinfT  tlie  i)ublic  that  the  vahic  of  liis 
stock  was  guarantied  by  the  inexliaustible  riclics  tliat 
were  concealed  in  tlie  mines  near  the  Mississippi. 
These  chimeras,  called  by  the  name  of  system,  do  not 
(lilVcr  much  from  the  schemes  that  are  brought  forward 
in  the  present  age,  under  the  name  of  credit.  Some 
have  asserted  that  so  many  unjust  operations,  so  many 
violations  of  the  most  solemn  engagements,  were  the 
result  of  a  deeply  meditated  design,  and  that  the  regent 
had  only  consented  to  it  in  order  to  free  the  state  from 
;i  debt  whose  weight  had  become  insupportable.  NVc 
cannot  adopt  this  explanation.  It  is  more  probable, 
lliat,  after  having  entered  on  a  pernicious  course,  this 
prince  and  his  council  were  led  from  error  to  error,  to 
palliate  one  evil  by  another  still  greater,  and  to  deceive 
the  public  by  deceiving  themselves.  Had  they  acted 
according  to  a  premeditated  plan,  their  artifice  would 
have  been  even  more  disgraceful  than  the  open  injus- 
tice of  the  French  directory,  when  in  1797  it  reduced 
the  public  debt  to  one-third  of  its  amount.  Wiiatever 
may  be  the  fact,  the  name  of  Mississippi  was  soon  as- 
sociated with  that  of  bankruptcy,  and  it  is  only  after 
the  lapse  of  a  century  that  the  real  prosperity  of  the 
country  has  effaced  the  infamv  con:\ectcd  with  its 
name. 

We  will  not  recall  the  consequences  of  John  Law's 
-system;  it  is  sufficient  to  say,  that,  in  order  to  give  it 
an  apparent  consistency,  he  kept  uj)  the  relations  of 
the  company  with  Louisiana.     }fc  had  acquired  for 


ill 


!il 

'II 
lit  I 

'a 


112 


IHE  mSTOR\ 


himself  an  estate  of  four  leagues  S((uare,  situated  oh 
the  Arkansas,  in  the  ncighhourliood  of  the  Mississippi 
Its  soil  was  remarkably  fertile,  and  he  had  obtaiiitd 
j)ermission  from  the  regent  to  erect  it  into  a  dutcliy." 
He  brought  together  about  two  thousand  French  and 
Germans,  and  embarked  all  the  articles  necessary  to 
found  a  largo  settlement.  Hut  the  year  1720  was  the 
last  of  his  ephemeral  greatness.  His  projects  in  France 
having  failed,  the  colonial  enterprise  experienced  grca 
embarrassments,  and  Dupratz  calculates,  "that  the 
•rrant  occasioned  the  loss  to  L'Orient  of  more  than  a 
thousand  persons  before  the  embarkation.''  The  vcv 
sels  which  carried  the  remainder  of  the  emigrants  oiih 
set  sail  from  the  French  ports  in  1721,  a  year  after  the 
disgrace  of  this  minister;  and  when  he  himself  could 
uive  no  attention  to  this  wreck  of  his  fortune.  The 
grant  was  transferred  to  the  company.  Tlie  emigrant- 
were  landed  at  Biloxi,  at  Mobile,  as  well  as  on  the 
banks  of  the  Mississippi.  Thus  dispersed  and  deprived 
of  the  care  of  the  person  who  had  sent  them  to  the 
country,  most  of  them  became  victims  to  the  rigour  o! 
the  climate.  It  was  easy  to  conceal  from  the  pubh 
the  calamities  without  number  to  which  these  French- 
men were  subjected.  The  communications  with  the 
metropolis  were  rare,  and  the  only  correspondence  thai 
was  carried  on  was  conducted  with  secrecy.  Europe 
had  not  then  any  of  those  periodical  writings,  which. 

*  Dupratz's  History  of  Louisiana,  vol.  i.  page  170.  Lower  Ca- 
nada is  still  subjected  to  the  feudal  system,  and  the  barons  ain- 
seisnors  are  very  much  attached  to  their  privilej^cs  and  titles. 


Cd   Oh 

ssippi. 
taincd 
tcliy,- 
h  and 
lury  to 
as  till 
''niiicc 
1  grcai 
It  the 
than  a 

IC  VQi- 

ts  oiil;. 
tcrtlie 
'  coultl 
The 
H'rant' 
511  tilt 
privctl 

to  tilt 
;o",ir  o! 
publii 
rciicli- 
th  tilt 
:c  tlia! 
uropt 
vvliicli. 

war  i.'i- 
ms  aiii; 


OK  r,OUISIAN.>. 


113 


as  tlicy  aro  ol'tcii  independent  nnd  lionet-t  in  spite  of 
all  the  shackles  that  are  attempted  to  ho.  imposed  on 
tiicin.  nitimately  give,  by  procia;  ning  the  truth,  iidbr- 
ination  to  governments  as  well  as  to  the  people. 

Enlightened  and  prudent  men  formed,  however,  a 
sound  jiulgment  on  the  state  of  things  in  l^onisiana. 
Father  Charlevoix,  a  Jesuit,  travelled  throu<di  it  in 
1720,  1721,  and  1722,  The  extreme  discretion  of  the 
society  of  which  he  was  a  member  did  not  permit  him 
to  tell  every  thing;  but  he  is  lionest  in  what  he  says, 
especially  in  Iiis  relation  of  what  he  saw.  When  at 
the  end  of  his  conteniptuons  observations  upon  the 
pretended  metallic  riches  of  Lotiisiana,  he  speaks  of 
the  real  riches  which  agriculture  nuist  one  day  deve- 
lopc  there,  when  lie  predicts  the  degree  of  sjjlendour  to 
which  the  handet  of  New  Orleans  will  rise,  though  it 
then  had  no  other  place  but  a  tent  for  the  celebration  of 
the  festivals  and  ceremonies  of  religion,*  we  cannot  but 
admire  ids  penetration  and  the  solidity  of  Ids  judgment. 

"  The  mournful  wrecks,"  says  he,  ••  of  the  settlement 
on  M.  Law's  grant,  of  which  the  company  has  become 
the  proprietor,  are  stUl  to  be  seen  opposite  tlie  village  of 
the  Kappas.'l"  It  is  there  that  the  six  thousand  Germans 
raised  in  the  Palatinate  ought  to  have  been  sent,  and 
it  is  very  unfortunate  that  they  did  not  go  there.  There 
IS  not  in  all  Louisiana  a  district  better  adapted  to  every 
kind  of  grain  and  the  pasturage  of  cattle."     It  was  at- 

*  New  Orleans  was  founded  in  17ir. — Tr.vnsl. 
t  Attakapas,  almost  opposite  New  Orloan?,  on  the  right  bank 
of  the  Mississippi.    Dupiatz  and  Charlevoix  do  not  agree  as  to  the 


« 


M 


;  I 


-itiintion  of  this  jirant. 


15 


Hi 


IHK  jnSTORS 


tempted  to  manage  at  Paris  or  Versailles  plantations 
which  could  only  prosper  under  the  eyes  of  a  proprie- 
tor, who  was  in  a  condition  to  make  great  advance*. 
"  The  people  who  are  sent  there,*'  Charlevoix  further 
remarks,  "arc  miserable  wretches  driven  from  France 
for  real  or  supposed  crimes,  or  bad  conduct,  or  per- 
sons who  have  enlisted  in  the  troops  or  enrolled  them- 
selves as  emigrants,  in  order  to  avoid  the  pursuits  ol 
their  creditors.  Both  classes  regard  the  country  as  a 
place  of  exile.  Every  thing  there  disheartens  them: 
nothinjx  interests  them  in  the  progress  of  a  colonv  ol 
which  they  arc  only  members  in  spite  of  ♦licmsclvcN 
and  they  are  very  little  concerned  with  the  advantage"- 
which  it  may  procu'e  to  the  state;  the  greater  part  are 
not  even  capable  of  appreciating  them." 

"  Others  have  only  found  misery  in  a  country  tor 
which  they  have  incurred  enormous  expenses;  and 
they  attribute  *o  it,  without  reflection,  those  evils  which 
should  be  soiely  imputed  to  the  incapacity  or  negli- 
gence of  the  persons  to  whom  its  settlement  was  in- 
trusted." Then,  alluding  to  the  system,  he  adds:  "  Vou 
are  not  ignorant  of  the  reasons  which  led  to  its  being 
reported  that  Louisiana  possessed  in  its  bosom  grea 
treasures,  and  that  its  occupation  brought  us  into  tin 
neiirhbourhood  of  the  famous  mines  of  St.  Barbe,  and 
of  others  still  richer;  from  which  wc  flattered  ourselv'?s 
with  the  prospect  of  easily  driving  away  the  present 
possessors. 

Tlie  letters  of  this  .Tesuit  were  addressed  to  the  Du- 
chess de  l^esdiguieres:  and  were  kept  very  secret.    It 


OF   LOl  ISI.WA. 


11.) 


lliey  had  then  been  published,  the  colony  would  infalli- 
bly have  had  a  different  destiny,  but  this  correspond- 
ence only  a[)peared  twenty-five  years  afterwards. 

Dupratz,  author  of  a  History  of  Louisiana,  ingenu- 
ously states,  "  that  all  the  letters  which  were  sent  to 
France  were  intercepted.  VVc  consulted  together  on 
the  means  of  forwarding  them  to  their  destination;  we 
discovered  it,  and  availed  ourselves  of  it  "* 

'•  The  writers  of  history  are  obliged,"  he  farther  ob- 
serves, "  to  treat  with  equal  caution  the  dead  and  the 
living;  and,  so  delicate  a  matter  is  it  to  give  utterance 
to  the  truth,  that  the  pen  often  falls  from  the  liands  of 
those  who  are  most  disposed  to  be  accurate:." 

Afewcolonists,  however,  returned  to  Prance;  they  re- 
counted the  misfortunes  from  which  they  had  escaped, 
and  some  truths  began  to  make  their  way  to  the  pub- 
lic. But,  instead  of  taking  advantage  of  this  informa- 
tion, to  found  an  agricultural  settlement,  the  practice 
jtill  continued  of  transporting  to  Louisiana  such  vaga- 
';onds  and  prostitutes  as  could  be  removed.  No  mea- 
sure was  adopted  for  giving  order  to  this  collection  of 
drones;  and  if  the  instructions  prepared  at  Versailles 
ever  reached  the  colony,  they  remained  unexecuted. 

A  company  for  the  Indies  was  created  in  1723.  The 
Duke  of  Orleans  was  declared  its  governor.  Its  privi- 
leges embraced  Asia,  Africa,  and  America.  In  the  de- 
liberations of  this  association,  composed  of  great  no- 
blemen and  merchants,  India,  China,  the  factories  of 

•  History  of  Louisiana,  vol.  i.  pajj;o  lti(u  1 68,  169;  printed  in 
ir.iS,  with  the  Royal  approbation. 


!l|l 

IS! 

L 


i 

ill 


M 

4„ 

4 


II 


no 


TIIK  mSTOKV 


Senegal  and  Barbary,  the  West  Indies  and  Canada 
were,  in  turn,  brouglit  into  view.  Louisiana  holds  a 
principal  place  in  these  discussions.  Public  utility,  'da 
much  as  the  greatness  and  glory  of  the  monarch,  had. 
under  Louis  X1V^,  led  to  the  favourable  reception  ot 
the  first  proposals  for  the  foundation  a  powerful  colo- 
ny. Bat  nothing  in  the  execution  had  answered  to  tlii^ 
inteiition;  the  new  company  was  conducted  with  even 
less  ability  than  those  which  had  preceded  it.  Wc  in 
vain  seek  ir.  its  acts  the  marks  of  the  great  colonial 
design  formed  by  the  government.  We  find  at  almost 
every  i)age  of  the  numerous  registers  which  contain 
the  deliberations  of  the  association,  tarifls  of  the  prico; 
fixed  on  tobacco,  coflcc,  and  all  the  other  productions 
that  were  subjected  to  the  monopoly.  ^V  e  also  meet 
with  speeches  made  in  the  general  assembly,  setting 
forth  the  flourishing  state  of  the  aflairs  of  the  compa- 
ny, which  almost  always  terminate  by  proposing  loan?, 
to  be  guarantied  by  a  sinking  fund.  But  the  sinking 
fund  was  deceptive:  the  debts  accumulated  to  such  an 
extent  that  the  interest  could  not  be  paid,  even  by 
mortgaging  the  capital.  Statements  of  accounts 
bankru[)tcies,  law-suits,  and  a  multitude  of  document; 
prove  that  the  operations,  ruinous  in  a  commercial 
point  of  view,  were  only  profitable  to  a  small  number 
of  the  partners. 

Nothing  useful  or  good  could  in  fact  result  fi'om  sucli 
a  government.  A  single  circumstance,  selected  from 
a  mass,  will  enable  every  one  to  judge  how  far  tlic-t 
abuses  were  canied. 


OF  LOUISIANA. 


117 


The  governor  and  the  intendant  of  Louisiana  wore 
iiom  the  nat  ne  of  their  functions,  in  a  manner  inter- 
posed between  the  company  and  the  inluibitants,  to 
moderate  tlieir  reciprocal  pretensions  and  prevent  op 
prcssion.  But  these  magistrates  were  named  by  the 
members  of  the  association.  We  read  in  its  proceed- 
ings that  to  attach  the  governor  ana  the  intendant  to  the  in- 
kmts  of  the  company^  there  shall  be  assigned  to  them  an  an- 
nual gratuity  and  an  allowance  on  the  exports  of  the  staple 
mmmodities  to  France.  The  consequences  of  this  sys- 
tem were  most  injurious  to  Louisiana,  without  enrich- 
ing the  stockholders. 

A  statement,  prepared  in  1726,  made  them  creditors 
of  the  colony  for  the  sum  of  .3,17 1,000  livres.  This 
debt  was  not  disputed  by  the  colonists,  but  there  was 
no  means  of  constraining  them  to  pay  it.  The  public 
mind  became  exasperated,  and  the  discontent  mani- 
fested itself  in  revolts  against  the  company.  The  su- 
perior council  took  part  in  them,  and  suj)ported  the 
cause  of  the  inhabitants.  Its  acts  were,  however, 
reversed  or  rejected,  and  the  members  removed  from 
office  and  recalled  to  France,  which  only  increased  the 
resistance  of  the  colonists. 

Eight  or  nine  hundred  soldiers  were  distributed  in 
diflerent  garrisons;  but  they  were  not  even  adequate 
to  subject  the  colonists  to  the  police  regulations  in  a 
country  of  such  vast  extent. 

Another  calamity, — misunderstanding  with  the  na- 
tive tribes, — afHicted  the  French  wherever  they  settled, 
fl'c  friendly  dispcsitions  which  the  Indians  had  [>revi- 


lUi 


THK  HISTORV 


ously  exhibited,  changed  in  consequence  of  the  bad 
treatment  that  they  experienced  from  the  agents  ol 
the  company,  who  had  quitted  France,  seduced  by  the 
ho[)e  of  obtaining  the  fortunes  which  Law  had  offered 
tc  their  cupidity.  Instead  of  the  metalhc  treasures 
which  the  earth  refused  them,  they  traded  in  furs  with 
the  Indians;  and  as  they  had  been  at  first  obtained  at 
a  cheap  rate,  they  wanted  to  have  them  at  the  same 
price  wlien  they  became  scarce.  It  was,  indeed,  to  the 
French  liuntcrs  themselves  tliat  this  scarcity  was  to  be 
attributed.  Tlie  Indians  liad  always  a  sort  of  regard 
for  the  innocent  communities  of  beavers  and  otters. 
They  respected  the  peaceable  families  of  these  ani- 
mals, whose  habits  deserve  to  be  studied.  Our  hunt- 
ers, on  the  contrary,  appeared  to  take  pleasure  in  de- 
stroying their  retreats,  and  in  penetrating  even  to  the 
subterraneous  recess  where  the  industrious  tribe  as- 
sembles after  finishing  the  common  labour. 

In  the  trade  with  the  natives,  the  French  being 
the  stronger  and  more  cunning  party,  first  gave  the 
law;  but  injustice  on  the  one  side  was  followed  by 
resistance  on  the  other.  The  French  posts  and  gar- 
risons were  separated  by  great  distances  and  could  not 
afford  one  another  mutual  aid.  Petty  wars  broke  out 
in  all  directions,  and  lasted  from  eight  to  ten  years. 
Sieges  and  conspiracies  have  furnished  to  travellers 
and  historians  materials  for  narratives,  which  would  at 
this  time  be  without  interest  or  utility.  It  is  only  ne- 
cessary to  remark,  that  in  these  quarrels  the  civilized 
race  was  ahvays  unjust,  which  rendered  in  some  soil 


excusable 
ted.    Th( 
those  to 
consequei 
rival,  was 
tated  by  t 
it  had  rec 
the  colon 
that  a  gre 
was  exterr 
who  escap 
and  protec 
immemori 
mily  of  ch 
the  Sun. 
had  them 
Francais. 
ty  died  th 
other  Suns 
moderate 
applied  to 
the  22d  of 
tors,  as  fol 
other  cour 
survivors  c 
sent  back 
The  reg 
resolution. 


*  Register 
ohivos  of  the 


OF  LOUISIANA. 


in> 


excusable  the  acts  of  cruelty  that  the  natives  commit- 
ted. The  war  carried  on  against  the  Natchez,  one  of 
those  to  whicli  we  refer,  was  attended  witli  dreadful 
consequences.  This  nation,  peaceable  before  our  ar- 
rival, was  considered  less  cruel  than  the  others.  Irri- 
tated by  the  violent  conduct  of  a  French  commander, 
it  had  recourse  to  horrible  reprisals.  The  governor  of 
the  colony,  conceived  that  the  insurrection  required 
that  a  great  example  diould  be  made;  and  the  tribe 
was  exterminated  with  the  exception  of  a  few  i'amiiies 
who  escaped  the  general  massacre,  and  were  received 
and  protected  by  the  neighbouring  tribes.  From  time 
immemorial,  the  Natchez  had  been  governed  by  a  fa- 
mily of  chiefs  whom  they  believed  to  be  children  of 
the  Sun.  General  Perrier,  the  commanding  officer, 
had  them  all  carried  away  and  transported  to  Cape 
Francais.  The  most  important  member  of  this  dynas- 
ty died  there,  a  few  months  after  his  arrival.  The 
other  Suns  were  maintained  by  the  company  for  the 
moderate  sum  of  1,8H8  livres  7  sous.  The  company 
applied  to  M.  Maurepas  to  defray  this  expense.*  On 
the  22d  of  April,  1731,  the  minister  wrote  to  the  direc- 
tors, as  follows :  "  I  am  not  aware  that  there  is  any 
other  course  to  adopt  in  this  matter,  than  to  order  the 
survivors  of  these  two  Indian  families  to  be  sold  or 
sent  back  to  Louisiana." 

The  registers  of  the  company  contain  the  following 
resolution.     •'  It  was  resolved  to  order  the  sale  of  the 

*  Registers  of  the  Company  of  tlie  Indies,  deposited  in  the  ar- 
■iiivps  of  the  Court  of  Account:*.     Appendix,  No.  4. 


l}.': 


«Ii)| 


tl 


t 


,m:^ 


II 


120 


THE  HISTOR\ 


survivors  of  the  said  two  families  of  Natchez  Indians." 
At  the  very  time  that  this  order  was  given,  tlie  compa- 
ny was  pretending  to  the  glory  of  civilizing  a  people 
whose  chiefs  were  sold  as  slaves. 

A  icw  feeble  detachments  oi"  French  soldiers  had 
been  sufficient  to  reduce  these  tribes,  who  had  not  yet 
learned  to  use  our  weapons.  They  made  war  on  them 
in  a  great  many  places,  and  with  pretty  constant  suc- 
cess. But  these  petty  victories  weakened  the  French 
themselves.  The  chimeras  of  the  system  appeared  no 
longer,  even  to  its  greatest  dupes,  any  thing  but  an  au- 
dacious falsehood.*  Louisiana  had  become  rather  a 
burden  than  an  advantage  to  the  company.  In  MM 
\t  gave  up  its  privileges  to  the  king,  who  declared  the 
trade  free  to  all  his  subjects.  The  company  no  longer 
exists.  To  know  what  it  cost  the  state  during  its  con- 
tinuance and  since  its  dissolution,  requires  the  produc- 
tion of  the  registers  of  the  time.  In  1786,  .V^.OCMWO 
livres  were  paid  to  its  cashier  by  the  treasury,  to  meet 
expenditures  for  which  there  were  no  receipts:  and  thi= 
payment  was  not  the  last. 

It  was  in  the  Illinois  country  that  a  covetous  ignorance 
had  placed  those  mines  of  silver  and  gold,  which  the 
speculators  said  were  richer  and  more  abundant  than 
those  of  Mexico.     iMany  families,  dupes  of  an  error 


*  On  the  11th  of  August,  1728,  the  company  surrendered  to 
the  king  all  its  rights  against  John  and  William  Law.  This  pro- 
ceeding was  founded  on  a  judgment  in  its  favour  for  twenty  mil- 
lions, the  value  of  which  had  only  been  turnislicd  in  part.  Tin' 
king  accepted  the  surrender  the  5i\  of  September  following. 


OP  F.OUISrANV. 


121 


rancc 

1  tlio 
than 
error 


that  was  almost  general,  had  transferred  their  fortunes 
there.  They  found,  instead  of  treasures  concealed  in 
the  bowels  of  the  earth,  a  soil  of  almost  inexhaustible 
fertility,  one  of  the  mildest  climates  in  the  world,  se- 
veral navigable  rivers,  all  of  which  might  have  been 
decorated  with  the  title  of  beautiful  river,  which  was 
given  to  the  Ohio.  The  colonists,  recovered  from  their 
illusions,  turned  their  attention  to  agriculture:  this 
small  part  of  JNew  France  from  that  time  made  consi- 
derable progress.  Honest  and  industrious  agricultu- 
rists, merchants  in  easy  circumstanres  settled  there; 
and  such  is  the  power  of  labour  and  property  that  the 
colony  began,  between  1732  and  1740,  to  assume  a 
little  more  importance.  It  was  at  this  time  that  the 
French  government  wished  to  realize  the  great  plan, 
formed  sixty  years  before,  of  uniting  Canada  and  Lou- 
isiana, in  the  hope  that  this  union  would  shut  out  from 
the  English  colonies  all  access  to  the  regions  of  the 
west.  Although  no  one  was  then  at  all  acquainted 
with  the  countries  which  extend  from  the  Mississippi 
to  the  Western  Seas,  their  future  importance  was  fore- 
seen. 

The  memoirs  written  on  this  subject  have  been  pre- 
served: their  authors  sagaciously  prognosticate  the 
high  destinies  of  the  two  colonies  thus  united.  They 
meet  objections,  and  combat  them  all  with  one  excep- 
tion: no  one  of  them  foresees  that  these  provinces,  as 
they  increase  in  population,  and  as  a  consequence  even 
of  the'r  prosperity,  must  aspire  to  and  finally  attain  in- 
dependence.   They  notice  the  discontent  with  which 

16 


m 


:   *H 


<«  .11 


It  I.  i 


122 


THF  HISIOUV 


the  plan  of  tlie  union  of  Canada  and  Louisiana  must 
inspire  Rngland;  but  nothing  foretells  to  them  that  the 
provinces  of  English  America  will  rise  up  and  free 
themselves  from  the  dominion  of  their  mother  country, 
and  that  the  colonies  conquered  from  France  will  one 
day  be  the  only  ones  that  Great  Britain  will  retain  on 
that  continent. 

When  knowledge  is  once  diftused,  its  progress  can 
no  longer  be  arrested;  every  thing  contrary  to  nature 
and  reason  has  become  impossible.  But,  in  the  mid- 
dle of  the  last  century,  the  most  penetrating  minds,  the 
most  attentive  statesmen  wer?  still  far  from  foreseeing 
the  independence  of  the  English  provinces. 

After  tl  e  peace  of  1748,  the  French  ministry  took 
a  deep  interest  in  the  settlement  of  Louisiana,  and 
held  out  encouragements  to  all  who  wished  to  es- 
tablish themselves  there;  but,  at  the  same  time,  it 
greatly  neglected  the  measures  necessary  to  the  suc- 
cess of  such  a  design.  The  plantations  should  have 
been  kepi  close  together,  and  only  gradually  extend- 
ed. But  the  colonists,  on  their  arrival  in  these  sa- 
vage regions,  thought  themselves  released  from  all  re- 
straint. The  greater  part  of  them  did  not  even  care 
about  obtaining  for  their  titles  the  sanction  of  a  grant; 
it  was  not  easy  to  restrain  them  from  settling  wherever 
their  hopes  or  fancy  conducted  them.  The  Indians, 
however,  were  beginning  to  recover  from  the  hatred 
with  which  the  French  had  momentarily  inspired  them. 
The  missionaries  exerted  themselves  to  make  them 
Christians,  and  laboured  with  an  admirable  zeal  to 


render  tl, 
allow  fire 
change  fc 
instrumer 
lent  care 
the  nativ 
were  the 
without  a 
their  mise 
end  were 
the  India] 
names  of 
nised,  tho 

The  ch 
principal 
become  e 
were  alwa 
them  in  al 
experience 
wards  the 
tlements. 
this  disper 
gress  of  tl 
had,  for  th 
to  colonia 
favour,  ani 
only  filled 
of  making 

The  exj 
limits :  in  i 


OF  LOIilSI.WA. 


123 


render  th^m  more  liumano.  The  governors  did  not 
allow  fire-cirms  and  strong  liquors  to  be  given  in  ex- 
change for  furs.  Tlicy  distributed  to  thorn  cattle  and 
instruments  of  tillage.  It  is  true  that  those  benevo- 
lent cares  did  not  produce  the  desired  effect;  but 
the  natives  were  grateful  for  them,  and  the  French 
were  then  able  to  scatter  themselves  among  them, 
without  apprehension:  they  shared  their  idleness  and 
their  misery.  They  oftentimes  married  [udinn  women, 
end  were  then  of  right  incorporated  into  the  tribe.  But 
the  Indian  families  preserved  with  pride  the  foreign 
names  of  their  new  chiefs,  which  are  still  to  be  recog- 
nised, though  altered  by  local  idioms. 

The  chase,  the  amusement  of  civilized  man,  is  the 
principal  business  of  savages.  The  French,  having 
become  equally  capable  of  fatigue  with  the  Indians, 
were  always  ready  to  accompany  them,  and  to  second 
them  in  all  circumstances;  they  therefore  scarcely  ever 
experienced  the  treachery  so  connnonly  employed  to- 
wards the  English,  who  atteuipted  to  form  isolated  set- 
tlements. But,  besides  the  inconvenience  arising  from 
this  dispersion,  there  was  another  obstacle  to  the  pro- 
gress of  the  French  colony;  the  off -^.ers  from  Europe 
had,  for  the  most  part,  only  false  nouons  with  respect 
to  colonial  government.  They  were  named  through 
favour,  and  the  most  in^portant  places  were  oftentimes 
only  filled  by  dependants,  who  accepted  them  in  hopes 
of  making  or  re-establishing  their  fortunes. 

The  expenses  resulting  from  want  of  order  had  no 
limits :  in  no  condition  to  provide  for  them,  the  heads 


i^ 


a; 


m 


,fj#'' 


i        ! 

'    ■*■* 

r.  -J 


*.'! 


li 


^1! 


i 


iii 


Li' 


121 


THE  lilSlOUV 


of  the  government  had  recourse  to  paper  money,  the 
desperate  resource  of  financiers  without  capacity.  The 
following  reniaks  on  this  subject  are  from  a  despatch 
of  M.  Ilouille,  minister  of  marine. 

"The  disorder,  which  lias  for  some  time  prevailed  in 
the  finances  and  trade  of  Louisiana,  principally  arises 
from  pouring  into  the  province  treasury  orders  and 
other  kinds  of  paper  money;  all  of  which  soon  fell 
into  discredit,  and  occasioned  a  depreciation  of  the 
currency,  which  has  been  the  more  injurious  to  the  co 
lony  and  its  trade,  as  the  prices  of  all  things,  and  par- 
ticularly of  manual  labour,  have  increased  in  propor- 
tion to  the  fall  in  the  treasury  notes." 

It  was  on  the  .30th  of  November,  1744,  that  this  mi- 
nister thus  expressed  himself  with  regard  to  the  chime- 
rical systems  of  credit,  which  have  never  been  more  in 
vogue  than  in  our  tiiTie. 

This  internal  difficulty  originated  in  the  bad  legisla- 
tion of  the  French  colonies,  while  those  of  England 
prospered  by  the  aid  of  wise  institutions.  France  was 
always  less  powerful  on  the  continent  of  America,  and 
she  was  there  successively  stripped  by  England  of  her 
principal  settlements.  These  losses  are  not  foreign  to 
the  circumstances  attending  the  cession  of  Louisiana, 
and  we  will  point  them  out,  commencing  with  the 
earliest. 

The  French  were  beginning  to  settle  in  Carolina, 
when  the  English,  by  a  better  conceived  enterprise, 
took  possession  of  it.  It  remained  theirs  without  trea- 
ty, without  cession,  and  by  the  simple  fact  of  occupancy. 


The  tr( 
vcrcr  blo\ 
Hudson  B 
and  Acadi 
iier,  in  fu 
received  t 
an  excellei 
which  red 
not  genera 
purpose  of 
dcr  that  tb 
inspire,  me 
much  opp( 

The  Ac 
their  origii 
them,  had 
to  bear  ar 
they  perse' 
and  habits 
themselves 
name  that 

When  th 
tunate  peo] 
with  pain 
They  allow 
were  alwaj 

The  En^ 
of  France 
some  indie 
^nd  fearing 


OF  LOllSIANA. 


125 


The  treaty  of  Utrecht  inflicted  in  1713  a  still  se- 
verer blow  on  the  French  power  in  the  new  world. 
Hudson  Bay  was  by  that  treaty  restored  to  England, 
and  Acadia,  as  well  as  Newfoundland,  was  ceded  to 
licr,  in  full  sovereignty.  Acadia,  which  subsequently 
icceivcd  the  name  of  Nova  Scotia,  was  inhabited  by 
an  excellent  race  of  Frenchmen.  The  circumstances 
which  reduced  them  to  the  most  wretched  state  arc 
not  generally  known:  we  will  relate  them,  not  for  the 
purpose  of  nourishing  national  animosities,  but  in  or- 
der that  the  indignation,  which  these  persecutions  must 
inspire,  may  prevent  the  return  of  acts  of  injustice,  as 
much  opposed  to  humanity  as  to  the  law  of  nations. 

The  Acadians,  always  attached  to  the  country  of 
their  origin,  even  after  it  had  been  obliged  to  abandon 
them,  had  obtained  permission  never  to  be  compelled 
to  bear  arms  against  it.  Religious,  docile,  and  loyal, 
they  persevered  in  retaining  the  language,  manners, 
and  habits  of  France:  they  had  succeeded  in  causing 
themselves  to  be  regarded  as  neutral,  which  is  the 
name  that  was  at  length  given  to  them. 

When  the  seven  years'  war  broke  out,  those  unfor- 
tunate people,  forgotten  by  their  native  land,  still  bore 
with  pain  their  subjection  to  a  foreign  government. 
Tlicy  allowed  it  to  be  too  plainly  seen  that  their  wishes 
were  always  favourable  to  the  country  of  their  origin. 

The  English,  resolved  to  put  an  end  to  the  influence 
of  France  in  the  aflfairs  of  America,  took  umbrage  at 
^ome  indications  of  this  affection  of  the  Acadians, 
and  fearing  that  they  might  be  induced  to  afford  aid  to 


I 


?l^ 


ti^'^ 


■it 


if 


li 


i.v. 


■4:  ^i^ 

'I 


126 


f  HE  HisiToKV 


the  French  in  Canada,  they  determined  not  only  to 
banish  tlieni  from  Acadia,  but  to  disperse  them  so  as 
to  prevent,  for  the  future,  all  concert  of  such  a  nature. 
The  fate  intended  for  them  was  with  great  caro 
kept  secret.  On  a  sudden,  they  were  collected  by 
districts  under  pretence  of  the  harvest.  They  were 
hardly  assembled,  when  it  was  notified  to  them  that 
they  were  prisoners;  that  their  lands,  cattle,  and  all 
their  moveables  were  confiscated.  They  were  only  al- 
lowed to  ci.rry  away  their  silver  and  the  trifling  eflccts. 
which  they  could  put  on  board  of  the  vessels.  Their 
estates  were  laid  waste,  so  that  they  might  retain  nei- 
ther the  hope  nor  desire  of  returning  to  them.  In  one 
single  district  two  hundred  and  fifty-five  dwellings,  two 
Imndred  and  seventy-six  barns,  eleven  mills,  and  one 
church  were  destroyed.  A  few  families  took  refuge  in 
the  woods,  but  they  were  pursued  with  fire  and  sword: 
some  young  persons  were  killed  in  their  flight  by  sen- 
tinels, and  the  other  fugitives  were  obliged  to  deliver 
themselves  up.  These  unfortunate  people  were  distri- 
buted in  the  English  colonies,  where  they  were  lin- 
manely  and  charitably  received.  At  Philadelphia,  Be- 
nezet,  descended  from  a  French  family  banished  at 
the  revocation  of  the  edict  of  Nantes,  treated  them 
like  brothers.  Twenty-five  years  after  this  event,  wc 
have  seen  this  individual,  who  was  a  model  of  all  the 
charitable  virtues,  guide  the  Acadians  like  a  father  ot 
a  family,  and  they  really  regarded  themselves  as  his 
children.  The  cares  of  this  excellent  man  preserved 
them;  but  he  could  not  put  an  end  to  the  misery  and 


OF  I.OIJISIW  \. 


127 


dc|CClion  into  wliicli  this  barbarous  act  liad  plunged 
them.  They  still  continued,  even  after  so  many  years, 
to  regret  France  and  the  colony  wliicli  they  were  ne- 
ver again  to  see.* 

Louis  XV.,  touched  by  tlieir  fidelity,  proposed, 
through  his  ministers,  to  the  English  government  to 
send  some  vessels  to  the  diftbrent  provinces  and  plan- 
tations to  bring  them  back  to  France.  Mr.  Grenville, 
tiie  English  minister,  hastened  to  reply:  "Our  naviga- 
tion act  forbids  it, — France  cannot  send  vessels  to  our 

coionies."t 

Some  of  these  exiles  fled  to  Louisiana.  Several  of 
them  settled  in  French  Guyana;  and  the  French  who 
were  banished  to  Sinnamari  in  1798  found  there  an 
Acadian  family,  that  received  them  with  these  hospita- 
ble words: — "Welcome,"  said  Madame  Trion  to  one 
of  them ;  "  our  fathers  were  banished  like  you,  they 
taught  us  to  alleviate  misfortunes:  welcome,  we  feel 
pleasure  in  offering  you  consolation  and  an  asylum  in 
our  cabins." 

It  is  also  proper  to  mention  the  other  mitigations 
tiiat  attended  so  great  a  calamity.  Some  Acadians 
and  Canadians  had  taken  the  part  of  the  United  States 
(luring  the  war  of  the  revolution.  Congress,  warned 
by  sad  notoriety  of  the  misery  which  these  refugees 
and  those  who  had  formerly  been  banished  ftom  their 
country  experienced,  because  they  remembered  that 

*  Minot.  Continuation  of  the  History  of  Massachusetts.  Ch. 
10.    Entick.  General  History  of  the  Seven  Years'  War. 

t  Letter  of  December,  1768,  from  Jasper  Mauduit,  agent  of 
Massachusetts  at  London. — Massachusetts  Historical  Collection. 


I  .P  »♦-,-. 
*'*«.'- 


m 


■  h 


128 


THE  HISTORY 


their  fathers  had  been  Frenchmen,  attempted  to  tbrm 
settlements  of  them.  Having  become  rich  in  land 
by  the  acquisition  of  Louisiana,  it  made  them  free 
grants.  It  was  in  this  country,  formerly  French,  that 
after  so  many  vicissitudes  they  again  met  like  a  fami- 
ly.*  Other  Acadians  had  preceded  them  there.  They 
have  given  the  name  of  Acadia  to  a  district  of  Lou- 
isiana, where  they  have  settled.  It  is  bounded  by  the 
parish  of  Ibbcrville  and  lake  Maurepas.  The  Missis- 
sippi washes  its  shores,  and  its  inhabitants  have  the 
people  of  New  Orleans  for  neighbours.  Thus  sur- 
rounded, they  consider  themselves  in  France,  their 
posterity  will  lose  the  remembrance  of  the  misfortunes 
which  a  jealous  and  suspicious  policy  made  them  ex- 
perience, and  will  for  ever  bless  the  beneficence  and 
humanity  of  congress. 

France,  when  she  abandoned  Acadia  in  1713,  pre- 
served Canada  and  Cape  Breton,  hkewise  called  Isle 
Royal.  This  island  war-  of  great  importance  on  ac- 
count of  its  excellent  harbours,  and  of  its  neighbour- 
hood to  the  fisheries  of  Newfoundland,  the  principal 
school  for  seamen.  England  had  conquered  it  during 
the  war,  which  the  peace  of  Aix-la-Chapelle  termi- 
nated in  17 18.    Reciprocal  restitutions  were  stipulated 


*  This  statement  respecting  the  proceedings  of  congress  is  in- 
correct. The  settlement  of  the  Acadians  in  Louisiana  was  formed 
soon  after  the  melancholy  transactions  which  are  related  by  the  au- 
thor, and  in  consequence  of  a  grant  of  land  from  the  Spanish  govern- 
ment. The  United  vStates  have,  however,  in  conformity  with  the 
resolutions  of  the  old  congress,  from  time  to  time,  passed  law?. 
making  grants  of  land  to  the  Canadians  and  Nova  Scotians,  whu 
became  refugees  on  account  of  the  American  revolution.— Transl 


OF  LOUISIANA. 


129 


by  this  treaty,  and  among  others  Cape  Breton  was 
given  up  to  France.     Its  lands  arc  fertile.    The  har- 
bour of  Louisbourg  is  one  of  the  largest  ai:d  safest  in 
the  world;  and  the  sea  never  freezes  there.      This 
island  was  not  loii'?  to  remain  ours.    England  had  de- 
termined  to  leave  to  the  French  in  those  latitudes  only 
the  rocks  of  St.  Peter  and  Miijuelon.    Commerce  is 
friendly  to  peace,  but  the  merchants  of  London,  in 
despite  of  this  maxim,  were  the  most  violent  in  ex- 
citing to  war.    They  considered  that  they  had  a  flou- 
rishing navy  on  their  side,  while  the  fleet  of  their 
neighbours  was  entirely  ruined.    Too  certain  of  their 
maritime  superiority,  they  continually  called  the  atten- 
tcntion  of  the  parliament  and  the  ministry  to  their  inte- 
rests in  the  continental  colonies  of  America.    Without 
troubling  themselves  about  the  reciprocal  rights  of 
other  nations,  and  without  examining  if  the  respective 
limits  were  traced  between  the  territories  of  the  two 
powers,  they  alleged  in  their  petitions  the  injury  that 
the  Canadian  hunters  occasioned  them,  and  the  loss 
which  they  would  experience,  if  they  were  deprived  of 
the  fine  furs  of  the  beavers  and  otters. 

To  these  causes  for  a  war,  in  which  so  much  blood 
was  to  flow,  were  added  a  general  clamour  which  pro- 
ceeded from  the  thirteen  colonies.  Franklin,  as  skil- 
ful in  politics  as  he  was  zealous  for  the  improvement 
of  natural  science,  was  the  principal  organ  of  the  com- 
plaints of  the  English  colonists.  Franklin,  whom  Pa- 
ris saw  twenty-five  years  afterwards  employed  in  ex- 
citing the  opinion  of  France  and  of  all  Europe  against 

17 


II 


f  r'Jif 


^f-ii 


130 


IHK  MlflTURV 


England,  was,  in  1754,  the  promoter  of  the  expedition 
against  our  remaining  possessions  in  the  northern  i,)art 
of  the  new  world.  "No  tranquillity,"  said  he,  "'no 
tranquillity  can  be  expected  for  our  thirteen  colonies, 
so  long  as  the  French  are  masters  of  Canada.*'  Nei- 
ther this  ardent  republican,  nor  any  statesman  then 
foresaw  that  after  this  conquest,  the  provinces  would 
have  too  much  repose  to  remain  long  in  a  dependent 
state;  and  that  twenty  years  later,  freed  from  all  anxie- 
ty respecting  the  Canadian  frontier,  they  might,  with 
more  hope  of  success,  undertake  to  throw  off  the  yoke 
of  the  mother  country. 

The  jealousy  which  the  English  had  of  the  in- 
creasing power  of  France  in  India,  confirmed  their 
determination  for  war.  Negotiations  were  still  pro- 
ceeding in  Europe;  or  rather  England,  by  a  feigned 
negotiation,  was  endeavouring  to  prolong  the  security 
of  the  cabinet  of  Versailles.  From  the  month  of  May. 
1751,  hostilities  had  begun  on  the  Ohio.  In  June. 
1755,  the  British  ministers  sent  in  their  justificatory 
memoirs;  and,  at  the  same  period,  almost  on  the  same 
day,  a  squadron  of  thirteen  English  vessels  meeting 
on  the  banks  of  Newfoundland  two  French  vessels  of 
the  line,  approached  them  with  pacific  demonstration?, 
and  took  possessiofi  of  them. 

Canada  and  the  neighbouring  countries  became  the 
theatre,  on  which  during  five  years  the  two  powers  dis- 
played all  the  resources  of  courage  and  skill.  To  sec 
the  fury  with  which  two  rival  nations  disputed,  not  only 
for  the  inhabited  country-  but  even  for  totallv  bai- 


ver  as  ni 


OF  LOUISIANA. 


131 


ren  spots,  one  would  have  thought  that  they  attached 
more  interest  to  those  territories  than  to  their  Euro- 
pean provinces.  The  French  had  for  a  long  time  the 
advantage  in  this  violent  struggle,  to  which  the  capa- 
city of  Montcalm  contributed  as  much  as  his  valour; 
but  the  issue  depended  upon  maritime  superiority. 
A  part  only  of  the  destined  succours  in  men  and  mo- 
ney arrived  at  Quebec.  After  deeds  of  high  valour 
and  a  battle  in  which  the  two  chiefs,  Montcalm  and 
Wolf,  found  a  glorious  death,  the  English  completed 
the  conquest  of  Canada.  This  vast  province,  peopled 
by  French,  its  forts  constructed  with  so  much  expense, 
two  cities  that  were  already  flourishing,  were  all  lost  to 
France;  because  in  spite  of  uicredible  efforts  to  balance 
the  English  on  the  ocean,  in  spite  of  the  bravery  and  skill 
of  the  French  mariners,  her  naval  armaments  were  ne- 
ver as  numerous,  or  as  soon  readv  for  sea  as  those  of 
the  English. 

While  France  was  still  in  possession  of  Canada,  she 
neglected  nothing  to  carry  back  its  limits.  She  ad- 
vanced upon  land  designated  in  general  terms  in  the 
English  charters.  She  opposed  to  those  charters  the 
edicts  and  letters  patents  of  our  kings.  These  docu- 
ments and  the  memoirs  produced  on  both  sides  could 
not  spread  a  great  deal  of  light  upon  these  discussions: 
for  the  frontiers  of  the  belligerents  did  not  meet;  they 
were  separated  by  territory,  which  the  Indians  still  pos- 
sessed. The  peace  of  176;i  terminated  this  great  dis- 
pute. England  retained  her  conquests,  and  thencefor- 
\\jud  regulated  according  to  her  own  will  the  frontiers 


ii 


$0 


I 


-*    ■ftl«'H 


132 


I'HE  HlSTOllV 


of  Nova  Scotia.  Turning  to  her  advantage  in  the  ne-  f  benefit  of 
gotiation  every  thing  that  France  had  alleged  in  order 
to  establish  the  limits  of  Canada  to  the  south,  she 
made  her  cede  all  the  territory,  which  had  depended  on 
her,  to  the  left  bank  of  the  Mississippi.  New  Orleans 
was  excepted,  and  it  was  stipulated  that  a  line  drawn 
through  the  middle  of  the  great  river  should  separate 
the  part  of  Louisiana  Ipft  to  France  from  the  posses- 
sions of  England.  English  ambition  seemed  at  first 
satisfied  with  this  great  increase  of  power  in  America. 
But  a  few  years  gave  it  quite  another  developmenl. 
The  peace  of  1763  only  extended  the  cession  to  the 
countries  which  we  had  possessed.  It  is,  however,  in 
consequence  of  that  treaty  that  England  has  since  taken 
possession  of  an  immense  territory  to  the  north  and 
west,  which  extends  even  to  the  Northern  Ocean,  and 
to  the  coasts  opposite  Asiatic  Russia. 

So  many  losses  and  a  humiliating  peace  distressed 
the  French  nation.  The  ministry  accused  and  prose- 
cuted its  own  agents  on  their  return  to  Europe.  The 
court  of  the  Chdleld  for  their  collusions  and  vexatious 
banished  them,  and  condemned  them  to  restore  twelve 
millions. 

At  tlie  sad  remembrance  of  the  loss  of  these  pro- 
vinces, of  so  much  bloodshed,  of  works  executed  at 
such  great  expense,  of  debts  contracted  after  peace  to 
discharge  the  expenses  of  a  useless  defence,  we  may 
ask  ourselves  to  what  point  of  prosperity  would  Franco 
have  risen  if  all  these  many  efibrts  had  been  employed 
within  the  kingdom,  and  in  improvements  for  the 


OF  LOUISIANA. 


J  313 


benefit  of  our  agriculture,  manufactures,  and  com- 


merce 


?* 


The  bad  system  of  government  under  which  Louisi- 
ana long  suftered,  was  attended  with  the  consequences 
which  were  to  be  expected  from  it;  the  sovereignty  of 
one  of  the  finest  countries  in  the  world,  a  country 
which  might  have  become  another  France,  was  of  no 
use  to  the  parent  state,  but  was  even  a  charge  to  Iicr. 
After  the  experience  of  several  years,  the  govern ment^ 
wearied  with  a  possession  which  its  faults  and  igno- 
rance had  made  burdensome,  felt  disposed  at  the  peace 
of  1763  to  abandon  it;  and  probably  it  only  intended 
to  make,  by  ceding  it  to  the  Spaniards,  an  arrangement 
which  by  diminishing  its  expenses  would  relieve  the 
finances  of  the  kingdom. 

In  1761,  a  family  compact  was  concluded  between 
France  and  Spain.f  From  the  title  given  to  this  trea- 
ty one  might  have  supposed  that  there  was  only  a 
question  of  a  contract,  by  which  the  mutual  interests 
of  the  different  branches  of  the  house  of  Bourbon  were 

*  Appendix,  No.  5. 

t  Fifty  years  afterwards,  the  cabinet  of  St.  James  took  advan- 
tage of  a  favourable  opportunity  to  agree  with  the  court  of  Madrid 
tliiit  this  treaty  should  never  be  put  in  force.  Some  persons  have 
asserted  that  England,  instead  of  being  alarmed  by  it,  should  have 
(lesirod  its  renewal,  by  which  means  we  migiit  have  been  involved 
in  all  the  difficulties  incident  to  a  badly  governed  state,  witliout 
enjoying,  after  the  loss  of  America,  any  compensation  for  a  useless 
burden.  These  questions  are  too  complicated  not  to  offer  ground 
for  different  opinions.  But  we  are  persuaded  that  Spain,  even  af- 
ter her  irreparable  losses,  is  a  fine  and  powerful  monarchy,  and  that 
iliis  union  would  sooner  or  later  have  contributo<l  to  strengthen  the 
'epose  of  Kuropc. 


$0 


f  ii 


i 


131 


THE  HISTORY 


regulated  without  regard  to  considerations  truly  na. 
tional.  But  the  principal  stipulations  were  not  less  fa- 
vourable to  the  one  people  than  to  the  other.  For,  as 
long  as  Spain  was  a  maritime  power  and  possessed  the 
sovereignty  of  her  fine  kingdoms  in  America,  the  union 
was  equally  beneficial  to  the  two  nations,  and  it  is 
on  account  of  the  advantages  which  they  both  found 
in  it  that  it  has  been  called  a  family  compact.  Ac- 
cording to  the  18th  article  of  this  compact  one  of  the 
powers  is  obliged,  by  means  of  the  conquests  acquired 
during  a  war,  to  indemnify  the  other  for  the  losses 
which  it  has  sustained  from  it. 

Havannah  had  fallen  into  the  power  of  the  English  a 
few  months  before  the  peace,  and  this  conquest  would 
have  secured  to  them  the  possession  of  the  whole  island 
of  Cuba,  an  island  of  which  a  less  incapable  government 
would  have  made  a  flourishing  kingdom.  Such  as  it  was. 
it  would  have  been  a  loss  to  the  Spaniards  which  nothing 
could  repair.  England  consented  to  restore  it,  on  con- 
dition that  the  countries  which  Spain  claimed  east  of  the 
Mississippi  should  be  ceded  to  her  in  exchange.  Flo- 
rida was  comprised  in  this  cession,  and  the  English  de- 
rived from  the  treaty  the  advantage  of  rounding  their 
possessions.  They  had  already  the  ocean  for  the  east- 
ern boundary,  the  Mississippi  for  the  western,  and  the 
gulf  of  St.  Lawrence  to  the  north.  At  the  south,  the 
possession  of  the  Floridas  secured  them  a  great  supe- 
riority in  the  gulf  of  Mexico.  The  cabinet  of  London 
even  supposed  that  these  fine  regions,  thus  united  un- 
der a  single  master,  would  not  only  be  safe  from  all  ul- 


OK   I.Ol  l.SlANA. 


13  J 


tacks,  but  that  they  would  sooner  or  later  guaranty  to 
England  the  greatest  influence  over  all  America. 

France,  on  her  side,  had  experienced  greater  losses 
tlian  her  ally.  The  court  of  Madrid,  however,  asserted 
that  the  abandonment  of  territory  which  it  was  making 
])ut  Spain  in  a  situation  to  claim  the  execution  of  the 
18th  article  of  the  family  compact.  The  French  mi- 
nistry received,  in  this  case,  the  law  from  the  Spanish 
cabinet,  and  justified  itself  to  the  nation  by  considera- 
tions derived  from  the  disastrous  events  of  the  war. 
"  Canada,"  it  said,  "  had  been  conquered  by  England, 
and  French  valour  had  succumbed  on  the  land,  because 
insufficient  naval  forces  had  badly  seconded  it.  The 
same  fate  threatened  Louisiana,  and  France  therefore 
abandoned  what  it  could  no  longer  preserve." 

All  the  events  of  the  war  on  the  sea  had  proved  that 
without  an  equality  of  maritime  means,  the  colonial 
system  was  more  ruinous  than  advantageous,  and  that 
to  be  obstinately  bent,  while  inferior  in  strength,  on 
the  preservation  of  this  colony,  was  to  throw  away, 
without  the  shadow  of  utility,  the  resources  of  the  state 
in  men  and  money,  and  to  give  to  England  a  new  pledge 
of  dependence. 

At  that  time,  Forbonnais,  a  man  of  a  great  deal  of 
experience,  wrote  as  follows :  "  Would  it  not  be  more 
prudent  to  direct  our  attention  to  our  internal  resources? 
Our  property  at  home  would  not  be  at  the  mercy  of  a 
liostile  and  jealous  nation.  The  markets  of  Europe  arc 
open  to  us.    Her  interest  will  make  her  unite  with  us 


%■ 


■0^ 


.v^ 


'"m 


ini 


^  w 


M 


%. 


130 


TMK  HISTORY 


against  the  common  rival.  This  commerce  is  less  pro. 
carious  than  that  of  America  and  Asia." 

Louisiana  was  abandoned  to  Spain  by  a  private 
treaty  signed  on  the  same  day  with  the  public  one 
This  agreement  was  kept  secret  by  the  two  cabinets 
for  a  year.  It  was  only  on  the  21st  of  April,  1764,  that 
the  governor,  D'Abadie,  received  orders  from  Louis 
XV.  to  acquaint  the  colony  with  it.  This  magistrate 
was  profoundly  distressed  with  the  duty  which  he  vva? 
instructed  to  fulfil,  and  the  grief  which  it  occasioned 
was  the  cause  of  his  death.  The  Louisianians  ren- 
dered an  honourable  homaije  to  his  memory.  The 
following  eulogy  on  him  is  from  a  manuscript  chroni- 
cle of  the  colony : — 

"M.  D'Abadie  has  died  universally  regretted,  and  yet 
he  never  made  the  least  cftbri  to  gain  partisans.  A 
disinterested  ruler,  just  towards  all,  he  was  inflexibly 
firm  in  causing  the  laws  to  be  respected.  He  concili- 
ated the  interests  of  the  trade  of  the  mother  country 
with  those  of  the  colonv :  he  held  a  firm  hand  in  the 
execution  of  the  judgments  which  condemned  debtor? 
to  pay  their  creditors,  so  that  he  easily  induced  a  dimi- 
nution to  be  made  on  the  interest  of  commercial  ad- 
vances. He  severely  repressed  the  excesses  of  mas- 
ters towards  their  slaves:  the  Indians  were  also  pro- 
tected against  every  kind  of  oppression.  He,  by  \m 
example,  caused  religion  and  morality  to  be  honoured. 
it  was  thus  that,  without  making  any  effort  to  please 
the  colonists,  he  has  left  a  memory  which  will  alway? 
be  dear  to  them." 


The 
iiistory  h 
who  hav 
Aubri, 
cession, 
iioral  thi 
great  av 
publicly 
in  the  ht 
of  Madr 
D'Ulloa. 
obUged 
attemptc 
exercise 
bated  W 
bank  of 
sent  dep 
main  Fi 
cession 
The  { 
nio  D'Ul 
sand  me 
to  put  J 
ed  to  p 
through 
O'Reilly 
of  repui 
might  b 
quered 
violence 


OF  LOUISIANA. 


137 


The  government  of  colonics  is  absolute,  and  their 
history  has  almost  always  consisted  of  the  acts  of  those 
who  have  administered  them. 

Aubri,  the  successor  of  M.  D'Abadie,  announced  the 
cession.  At  the  news  of  it,  the  consternation  was  ge- 
neral throughout  the  province.  The  colonists  had  a 
great  aversion  to  the  Spanish  government,  and  they 
publicly  manifested  it.  The  administration  remained 
in  the  hands  of  the  French  even  in  1768.  The  court 
of  Madrid  then  sent,  as  Captain-General,  Don  Antonio 
D'Ulloa.  He  was  a  discreet  man,  but  his  instructions 
obliged  him  to  re-establish  the  prohibitory  system.  He 
attempted  it  without  success.  He  could  not  openly 
exercise  all  his  authority.  The  colonists  at  first  de- 
bated whethe*  they  would  not  emigrate  to  the  right 
bank  of  the  river.  They  renounced  this  project,  and 
sent  deputies  to  Versailles  to  obtain  permission  to  re- 
main French.  Louis  XV.  declared  to  them  that  the 
cession  was  irrevocable. 

The  Spanish  general,  O'Reilly,  replaced  Don  Anto- 
nio D'Ulloa.  He  brought  to  New  Orleans  three  thou- 
sand men,  which  he  supposed  to  be  a  srfRcient  number 
to  put  an  end  to  resistance.  The  colonists  attempt- 
ed to  prevent  their  landing,  which  was  only  effected 
tlirough  the  intervention  of  ihe  French  magistrates. 
O'Reilly,  an  enemy  of  conciliatory  measures,  a  warrior 
of  reputation  in  his  profession,  thought  that  a  colony 
might  be  governed  even  more  despotically  than  a  con- 
quered country.  The  barbarian  indulged  in  acts  of 
violence  and  ferocity,  which  he  mistook  for  prudence 

18 


I. 


«%- 


<  Be 


\. 


I3» 


I  UK  HIS  I  OK V 


and  firmness,  llo  seemed  not  to  know  that  subject!; 
do  not  renounce,  at  the  will  of  treaties,  an  ancient  al- 
legiance to  vvliich  tliey  have  been  long  accustomed; 
that  it  is  allowable  for  liiends  and  relatives  to  regret 
those  from  whom  they  arc  separating,  and  that  the  in- 
dications of  their  grief  oujht  to  be  viewed  with  indul- 
gence. Scaffolds  were  erected  at  New  Orleans.  ►Six 
colonists  paid  by  their  heads  for  the  courage  with 
which  they  had  manifested  their  attachment  to  France." 
The  court  of  Madrid  secretly  disapproved  of  these  acts 
of  outrage;  but,  fearing  to  endanger  the  authority  of  its 
governors,  it  abstained  from  condemning  O'Redly,  and 
even  from  disowning  him  by  an  authentic  act. 

The  colony,  though  immediately  after  this  revolution 
less  flourishing  than  ever,  was  subsequently  better  go- 
verned. Don  Carondelet,  an  enlightened  governor,  was 
aware  that  the  admission  of  foreign  settlers  of  every 
creed  was  one  of  the  most  certain  means  of  promoting 
the  prosperity  of  the  province. 

Gayoso  de  Lemos,  who  succeeded  him,  reformed 
some  great  abuses  which  had  been  introduced  in  the 
granting  of  lands.  These  favours  had  been  lavished 
with  so  little  prudence,  that  individuals  had  obtained 
tracts  of  ten  thousand  acres.  The  regulations  of  this 
governor  would  have  left  nothing  to  desire,  had  they 
not  been  tainted  with  a  violent  spirit  of  religious  into- 
lerance and  proselytism. 

*  M.  de  la  Fresni^re,  attorney  general  of  the  colony,  Messrs. 
De  Noian,  Caresse,  Villeret,  Marquiz,  Millet,  all  of  them  officer?, 
were  shot  by  order  of  O'Reilly. 


Avers 
lion  did 
could  be 
mixed  a 
scendan 
gcther  \\ 
Subsequ 
pendenc 
likewise 
later  per 
by  a  mil 
revolutio 
congruo' 
attachm 
could  be 
that  thej 
the  more 
of  the  cc 
CO,  while 
band  co 
attentive 

But,  u 
little  use 
municati 
terests  t 
reign  int 

It  was 
cissitud< 
English 
states  o 


OF  LOUISIANA. 


130 


7\vcrsion  for  Spain  was  gradually  cfl'accd;  but  affec- 
tion did  not  take  its  place,  and  nothing  but  indifference 
could  be  hoped  for  from  a  colonial  population  of  so 
mixed  a  character.  The  greatest  part  were  the  de- 
scendants of  the  first  French  settlers  of  the  colony,  to- 
gether with  whom  were  a  few  Spaniards  and  English. 
Subsequently  to  the  termination  of  the  war  of  inde- 
pendence, many  families  from  the  United  States  were 
likewise  to  be  found  there,  as  well  as  (though  at  a  still 
later  period,)  some  French,  who  had  escaped,  almost 
by  a  miracle,  from  the  disorders  to  which  a  horrible 
revolution  at  St.  Domingo  gave  rise.  Elements  .so  in- 
congruous could  not  produce  that  public  spirit,  that 
attachment  which  is  felt  for  one's  native  soil.  All  that 
could  be  expected  from  so  many  different  interests  was 
that  they  should  consent  to  be  governed,  and  they  were 
the  more  easily  managed,  as  Spain  bore  all  the  expense 
of  the  colonial  government  from  funds  sent  from  Mexi- 
co, while  the  imposts  were  very  light,  and  the  contra- 
band commerce  with  the  United  States  was  neither 
attentively  watched  nor  severely  punished. 

But,  under  its  new  systeni,  the  colony  was  of  very 
little  use  to  the  mother  country.  The  facility  of  com- 
municating with  different  nations  had  made  other  in- 
terests than  those  of  Spain  predominate,  and  these  fo- 
reign interests  were  every  day  acquiring  new  strength. 

It  was  whilst  Louisiana  was  experiencing  these  vi- 
cissitudes, that  the  great  change  which  placed  the 
English  colonies  in  the  rank  of  the  most  important 
states  of  the  world  was  prepared  and  consummated. 


'<  -  f'i 


m\. 


%. 


I 


140 


IMF.  HISTOKV 


The  first  circumstances  of  this  rcvohition  have  no  iiu- 
mediate  relation  to  Louisiana.  But  the  alliance  oi 
France  with  the  new  repuhlics  had  the  greatest  influ- 
ence on  the  fate  of  its  former  province.  Therefore,  a 
succinct  mention  of  the  negotiation,  which  was  suc- 
ceeded by  the  treaties  of  alliance  and  commerce  of 
1778,  will  not  be  foreign  to  this  history.* 

It  has  been  asserted  in  some  of  the  memoirs  of  the 
present  day,  that  as  the  government  of  France  was 
not  able  to  defend  itself  against  the  general  resent- 
ment which  the  peace  of  1763  had  created  in  the  na- 
tion, the  Duke  of  Choiseul  sent  to  America  emissaries 
empowered  to  sound  the  views  of  the  most  important 

*  The  Count  de  Vergennes,  in  the  memc  'ready  referred  to, 
and  which  seems  to  have  been  prepared  L  , .  o  the  treaty  of  al- 
liance of  1778,  attempts  to  establish  the  claims  of  France  to  a 
large  portion  of  North  America  on  the  ground  of  prior  discovery 
and  first  occupancy.  He  gives,  under  the  head  of  "  practicable 
means  to  reconcile  the  pretensions  of  the  English  and  French  as 
to  the  limits  of  their  North  American  possessions,"  a  projet  of  a 
treaty,  by  which  England  was  to  cede  to  France  all  the  conquests 
made  by  the  former  power  during  the  war  ending  in  1763,  and  es- 
pecially renounce  all  claims  to  Canada,  and  to  every  portion  of  an- 
cient Louisiana,  the  Spanish  part  of  which  was  also  to  be  receded 
to  France. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  add  that  it  was  in  consequence  of  the 
events,  then  occurring  in  the  British  colonies,  that  France  expect- 
ed to  regain  her  lost  provinces.  By  the  sixth  article,  however,  of 
the  first  treaty,  concluded  between  His  Most  Christian  Majesty 
and  the  United  States,  the  French  king  renounced  all  claim  to  the 
Bermudas  and  to  the  North  American  colonies,  which  had  been  pre- 
viously, or  were  by  the  treaty  of  1763,  acknowledged  to  belong  to 
the  British  crown.  By  the  preceding  article  it  was  stipulated  that 
the  British  possessions  in  North  America,  or  the  Bermudas,  if  sub- 
dued, should  be  confederated  with  or  be  dependent  on  the  Unitefi 
States.—- Transi. 


OP  LOUISIANA. 


141 


individuals  in  that  country;  and  to  foment,  in  concert 
with  them,  the  germs  of  an  insurrection.  Whatever 
mystery  may  attend  intrigues  of  this  description,  it  is 
imposaibie  that  such  a  secret  should  be  always  kept, 
and  too  many  people  must  have  been  made  acquaint- 
ed with  it,  to  allow  of  its  not  being  sooner  or  later  re- 
vealed. We  have  had  direct  relations  with  the  princi- 
pal citizens  of  that  country:  memoirs  in  great  num- 
bers have  informed  us  of  every  thing  which  preceded 
the  revolution,  and  wc  sincerely  declare  that  we  have 
no  where  been  able  to  discover  the  least  indication  of 
these  practices,  which  are  undoubtedly  opposed  to 
sound  policy,  and  still  more  so  to  the  reciprocal  obli- 
gations of  nations.  It  is  only  known  that,  a  few  years 
after  the  peace  of  1763,  the  Baron  de  Kalb  was  autho- 
rized to  visit  the  English  colonies,  and  that  he  in  fact 
spent  some  months  in  them.  But,  on  his  return  to 
France,  he  was  coldly  received  by  the  minister,  and 
his  mission  was  unattended  by  any  result.  It  was  se- 
veral years  after  this  time  that  a  connexion  began  to  be 
formed,  and  if  the  cabinet  of  Versailles  did  not  at  first 
aim  at  exciting  the  thirteen  provinces  to  revolt,  it  was 
not  an  indifferent  spectator  of  the  dissensions  which 
arose  between  the  mother  country  and  her  colonies. 
Towards  the  end  of  1775,  it  listened  to  the  overtures 
of  the  agents  of  the  American  congress.  Vergennes, 
Turgot,  and  the  other  members  of  the  king's  council, 
persuaded  themselves  that  their  temporizing  and  mys- 
terious measures,  the  execution  of  which  was  confided 
to  obscure  or  unknown  agents,  might  still  be  kept  se- 


Hi 

0" 


i 


•f'  ii 


142 


THE  HISTORY 


cret;  and  that,  without  hostihties,  without  jeoparding 
their  neutraUty,  it  was  allowable  to  supply  the  insur- 
gents with  money,  provisions,  and  even  arms. 

According  to  the  statements  of  the  agents  of  con- 
gress, the  French  ministers  only  saw  in  an  open  course 
of  conduct,  and  in  a  declaration  of  war,  the  danger  of 
reconciling  the  mother  country  and  the  colonies,  whom 
they  called  a  couple  of  friends  at  variance. 

Beaumarchais,  a  man  celebrated  by  his  intrigues 
and  g'eat  talents  served  as  the  medium  for  the  first 
communications,  and  the  American  agents  in  Paris 
confidentially  acquainted  with  them  a  committee,  to 
whom  congress  had  judged  it  necessary  to  refer  exclu- 
sively the  secret  of  the  negotiation. 

The  envoys  at  Paris,  in  conformity  with  the  pressing]; 
injunctions  of  Count  Vergennes,  required  that  the  com- 
mittee should  not  give  congress  any  knowledge  of  this 
deUcate  intercourse.  Two  only  of  the  members  of  the 
committee,  Dr.  Franklin  and  Robert  Morris,  who  was 
afterwards  at  the  head  of  the  finances  of  the  United 
Sates,  were  at  Philadelphia  when  the  messenger  arrived, 
They  learned  that,  in  the  autumn  of  1776,  a  shipment 
of  arms  and  munitions  to  the  value  of  5,000,000  livres 
tournois  would  be  made  to  St.  Eustatius,  Martinique, 
and  Cape  Francais,  where  the  Americans  Wore  to  re- 
ceive them:  that  three  millions  of  livres  were  put  at 
the  disposal  of  the  American  commissioners,  through 
a  banking  house,  under  the  form  of  a  loan.*     It  was 

*  Secret  Journals  of  the  Acts  and  Procce(linp;s  of  the  Old  Con 
gress. 


OF  LOUISIANA. 


Ii3 


m  this  way  that  men,  distinguished  tor  their  discretion, 
and  who  had  had  a  long  experience  of  the  law  of  na- 
tions, conceived  that  they  might  aid  a  people  engaged 
in  an  insurrection,  and  at  the  same  time  avoid  the  ca- 
lamities of  a  war.  But  the  injunction  of  secrecy  suffi- 
ciently proved  that  the  French  ministry  did  not  regard 
its  proceedings  as  altogether  safe  from  the  censure  of 
a  wise  and  just  policy. 

The  attention  of  the  English  government  was  di- 
rected towards  the  conduct  of  France  in  this  violent 
crisis.  Its  susp.  "-ions  were  about  breaking  out  in  re- 
proaches of  pertidy,  when  information  was  received  in 
Europe  that,  on  the  16th  of  October,  J  777,  the  Eng- 
lish general,  Burgoyne,  and  all  his  arny  had  been 
made  prisoners  at  Saratoga,  in  the  state  of  New  York. 
The  Americans,  from  that  time  equal,  and  perhaps  su- 
perior to  their  enemy,  seemed  no  longer  rebels,  and 
the  French  government  renounced  the  undignified 
mystery,  in  which  it  had  supposed  that  it  might  enve- 
lope itself. 

We  will  here  relate  a  circumstance  calculated  to 
give  an  idea  of  the  cautious  character  of  Count  Ver- 
gennes.  The  war  for  the  Spanish  succession,  at  the 
beginning  of  the  last  century,  and  the  one  which  ended 
in  1762,  had  made  him  acquainted  with  the  danger  that 
France  must  incur  in  fighting  by  sea  and  land  at  the 
same  time,  and  had  convinced  him  that  in  the  event 
of  such  a  double  contest  the  advantage  must  be  on 
the  side  of  her  rivals.  Europe  was  tranquil  in  1776; 
but  the  Elector  Maximilian  was  the  last  prince  of  a 


#«i-i-u 


l^i 


«««i 


II! 


''*m 


1 '  f  ; 


'K 


**-». 


144 


THE  HISTORY 


house  which  had  reigned  in  Bavaria  for  several  centu- 
ries. It  was  feared  tliat,  to  the  prejudice  of  another 
branch  of  his  family,  the  Austrians,  who  have  often  in 
reserve  documents  appHcable  to  the  most  unexpected 
occurrences,  might  intend,  at  his  death,  to  take  pos- 
session of  a  country  which  would  be  a  most  conve- 
nient acquisition  for  them.  A  war  in  Germany  was 
then  to  be  dreaded;  and,  before  exposing  himself  to  a 
rupture  with  England,  Vergennes  wished  to  know  if 
there  was  any  reason  to  fear  the  early  death  of  the 
elector.  Marbois,  the  king's  charge  d'affaires  at  Mu 
nich,  answered  that  there  was  no  ground  for  expect 
ing  that  this  prince  would  meet  a  premature  death,  un 
less  from  the  small  pox.*  The  minister  of  Louis  XVI 
thought  that  so  slight  a  chance  of  war  was  not  sufR 
cient  to  prevent  the  execution  of  designs  of  a  much 
higher  order.  There  was  no  delay  in  concluding  the 
treaties  of  alUance  between  France  and  the  United 
States,  which  were  signed  on  the  6th  of  February, 
1778. 

It  is  easier  for  us  to  point  out  the  wise  principles  on 
which  they  are  drawn  up,  than  it  would  be  to  justify 
the  conduct  of  France  towards  England.  We  had  ac- 
cess, fifty  years  since,  to  the  archives  of  France  as 
well  as  to  those  of  congress.  The  originals  of  the  do- 
cuments relative  to  these  treaties,  before  and  after 
their  conclusion,  were  in  our  hands.  They  are,  as  far 
as  resp<?cts  the  United  States,  the  monuments  of  an 


*  Appendix,  No.  6. 


OF  LOUIil    .\A. 


145 


elevated  policy.  France  was  never  more  magnani- 
mous; she  treated  with  a  state  in  its  very  cradle,  re- 
signed to  submit  to  unequal  conditions;  but  they  were 
all  disinterested,  and  ai  equal  as  the  respective  situa- 
tions of  the  contracting  parties  permitted.  The  mys- 
teries and  secrets  of  those  times  are  already  the  pro- 
perty of  history,  and  the  narratives  of  them  may  be 
esteemed  among  the  most  important  of  their  kind  that 
belong  to  the  last  century.  We  would  here  express 
our  wish  that  they  may  occupy  the  attention  of  a  wri- 
ter conversant  with  high  matters  of  state  policy,  and 
that  he  would  make  us  acquainted  with  the  history  of 
the  treaty  of  alliance  of  1778. 

It  is  certain  that,  in  signing  it,  no  one  thought  either 
of  Louisiana,  which  had  become  Spanish,  or  of  the 
many  other  important  colonies,  that  had  passed  from 
the  sovereignty  of  France  under  that  of  England.  The 
principle  of  reciprocity,  so  wise,  especially  when  a  treaty 
is  made  with  weak  states,  was  alone  consulted;  and  it 
dictated  conditions,  which  the  most  powertid  as  well 
as  the  most  feeble  had  an  interest  in  respecting. 

France  had  successively  lost,  during  the  last  cen- 
tury, all  her  continental  colonics.  She  scarcely  re- 
tained a  shadow  of  power  in  India,  where  for  so  long 
a  time  the  French  and  English  companies  had  kept 
one  another  reciprocally  in  check. 

At  the  same  period,  a  writer,  who  was  also  a  states- 
man, made  this  prediction:  "If  France  should,  one 
day,  be  deprived  of  her  insular,  as  she  is  now  of  her 
continental  colonies,  we  shall  see  her  prosper  by  her 


ill 


.|.«- 


!  '* 


'I'i 


ti! 


1i 


m 


14«) 


Tllfc:  HISTOKV 


own  means  as  much  as  those  states  who  retain  all 
theirs,  and  she  will  probably  even  surpass  them  in  hap- 
piness and  tranquillity."  * 

France,  which  had  been  dear  to  the  Louisianians. 
so  long  as  they  had  been  the  object  of  her  protection 
and  solicitude,  was  effaced  in  a  manner  from  their  me- 
mory, after  she  had  transferred  them  to  another  power, 
without  any  mark  of  regret. 

A  melancholy  event,  that  happened  at  New  Orleans 
in  1778,  afforded  the  French  colony  of  St.  Domingo 
an  opportunity  of  proving  that  the  old  attachment  was 
not  entirely  extinguished.  In  consequence  of  a  great 
fire,  the  finest  quarters  of  the  city  were  reduced  to 
ashes.  The  Marquis  de  Carondelet,  the  Spanish  go- 
vernor, immediately  informed  the  officers  at  the  head 
of  the  administration  of  St.  Domingo  of  this  misfor- 
tune, and  requested  them  to  communicate  it  to  the 
French  merchants,  and  urge  the  sending  of  assistance. 
The  following  answer  was  given  to  M.  f^o  Carondelet'j 
letter: — 

«  On  receiving  the  news  of  the  conflagration,  whicli 
has  laid  waste  your  capital,  we  did  not  deem  it 
proper  to  confine  ourselves  to  asking  aid  from  our 
merchants.  The  state  of  the  timber  yards  and  store- 
houses  of  our  colony,  as  well  as  the  condition  of  its 
finances,  permits  us  to  do  for  you  more  promptly  all 
that  you  desire.  A  frigate  is  about  to  sail.  It  carries 
to  you  every  thing  that  is  most  immediately  necessa- 
ry for  the  rebuilding  of  your  houses.  Merchant-sliip? 
will  soon  follow.    We  would  have  assisted,  in  the  same 


OF  LOUISIANA. 


147 


manner,  any  other  colony  suffering  under  so  great  a 

misfortune;  but  we  feel  double  satisfaction  in  relieving 

our  former  countrymen. 

"  Vincent  and  de  Marbois." 

It  was,  in  a  great  measure,  owing  to  this  aid  that 
the  losses  occasioned  by  the  fire  were  promptly  re- 
paired. But  the  colony,  always  enslaved  by  the  pro- 
hibitory system,  continued  to  languish,  instead  of  ad- 
vancing in  a  degree  proportionate  to  its  extent  and  na- 
tural advantages. 

The  cabinet  of  Madrid  seemed  firmly  persuaded 
that,  as  the  allegiance  and  submission  of  its  sub- 
jects in  the  two  worlds  had  lasted  for  centuries,  it 
would  never  experience  any  alteration.  It  is,  however, 
possible  that  it  saw  the  magnitude  of  the  danger;  but 
that  it  feared,  by  showing  a  desire  to  prevent  the  disas- 
ter, to  expose  itself  to  the  reproach  of  having  created 
it,  and  therefore  preferred  following  the  beaten  track. 
and  leaving  the  matter  to  time  and  fortune. 

The  great  change  which  is  now  attaining  its  con- 
summation in  the  condition  of  the  former  kingdoms  of 
Spain  in  America,  authorizes  me  to  make  here  a  few 
observations  on  the  frequent  warnings  which  the  court 
of  Madrid  received  respecting  the  approaching  crisis, 
and  the  little  regard  it  paid  to  them.  These  remarks 
also  affect  Louisiana. 

In  the  latter  years  of  the  reign  of  Louis  XIV.,  and 
on  occasion  of  the  Spanish  succession,  the  question 
was  considered  of  admitting  all  commercial  nations 
to  trade  with  the  colonics  of  that  monarch  v.     But 


»<^»*»i. 


*M 


i*n 


148 


THE  HISTOIO 


most  of  those,  w!io  pretend  to  a  knowledge  of  the 
future,  are  exposed  to  errors,  and  their  false  prophe- 
cies prevent  attention  being  paid  even  to  the  opinions 
of  the  wisest  statesmen.  M.  Mesnager,  whose  name 
is  to  be  found  in  all  the  proceedings  at  the  peace  of 
Utrecht,  belonged  to  the  latter  class.  From  the  be- 
ginning of  the  last  century,  he  regarded  the  admission 
of  the  commercial  states  to  all  the  ports  of  Spanish 
America,  as  a  means  of  removing  one  of  the  principal 
obstacles  to  peace.  "  It  would  be  advantageous,"  lie 
said,  "  even  to  the  interests  of  that  monarchy,  to  se- 
cure to  all  the  nations  of  Europe  the  commerce  of  the 
new  world."  This  proposition  was  worthy  of  one  ot 
the  greatest  politicians  of  Europe.  M.  de  Torcy,  who 
has  transmitted  it  to  us,  adds,  "  The  king  relished  the 
project."*  But  there  was  at  Madrid  a  royal  and  su- 
preme council  of  the  Indies,  and  this  council  knew  no 
prosperity  for  a  state  without  colonies  subjected  to  a 
rigorously  exclusive  monopoly.  It  rejected  the  pro- 
position. The  time,  however,  arrived  for  declaring 
that  the  old  rules  were  abandoned  for  new  maxims,  but 
it  was  then  too  late. 

The  Count  D'Aranda,  a  man  to  whose  enlightened 
views  Europe  has  rendered  a  just  homage,  foresaw,  a 
few  years  after  the  alliance  of  France  with  the  United 
States,  the  consequences  of  that  event  on  the  destiny 
of  the  trans-atlantic  kingdoms  of  Spain.  Fully  admit- 
ting that  the  independence  of  the  thirteen  colonies  had 

*  1707.  Negotiations  for  the  succession  of  Spain,  by  M.  Colberi 
*le  Torcy,  vol.  i.  pajre  181,  182. 


OF  LOUISIANA. 


149 


been  inevitable,  he  was  soon  alarmed  at  their  aggran- 
dizement. He  proposed,  in  1789,  to  the  king  his  mas- 
ter, to  divide  Spanish  America  into  three  great  states; 
each  of  which  should  be  governed  by  one  of  the  in- 
fants, with  the  title  of  king.  They  would  have  been 
bound  to  pay  a  considerable  subsidy  to  the  mother 
country,  and  she  would  only  have  retained  her  domi- 
nion over  the  islands  of  Cuba  and  Porto  Rico.  This 
great  design  was  thwarted  by  the  royal  council,  whose 
importance  it  would  have  destroyed.  It  would  have 
been  a  tardy  concession,  and  we  will  not  inquire  whe- 
ther the  thrones,  which  the  Count  D'Aranda  proposed 
to  erect,  could  have  been  long  maintained  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  a  people  raised  by  independence  to  the 
height  of  prosperity. 

From  1778,  a  royal  ordinance  had  allowed  a  trade 
between  the  colonics  and  the  principal  ports  and  places 
of  the  mother  country.  The  success  of  this  experi- 
ment surpassed  every  one's  expectations,  and  yet  the 
eyes  of  the  Spanish  ministers  were  not  opened.  Inter- 
course with  the  colonies  was  more  rigorously  than 
ever  forbidden  to  foreigners.  The  severity  had  dege- 
nerated into  an  absolute  despotism,  when,  in  1785,  in- 
ternal commotions  announced  dispositions  tending  to 
a  general  insurrection  of  the  aborigines,  and  even  of 
the  colonists. 

It  was  about  this  time  that  Miranda,  a  young,  enter- 
prising, and  bustling  creolc  from  C.irracas,  arrived  at 
Philadelphia.  He  had  there  several  interviews  with 
the  writer  of  this  historv,  to  whom  he  made  the  fol- 


»M 


Ml 


I 


i  m 


.VH**»l, 


150 


THE  HISTORY 


lowing  remarks:  "Our  American  kingdoms  will  soon 
experience  a  revolution  similar  to  the  one  wliich  you 
have  witnessed  here.  A  wise  and  prudent  government 
might  moderate  its  violence  or  delay  its  effects.  But 
such  warnings  only  offend  ministers.  They  have  a 
great  aversion  for  all  wisdom  except  their  own,  and 
they  always  make  those  advisers,  who  are  too  well  in- 
formed for  them,  feel  their  anger.  I  have  told  them 
that  the  rising  of  the  Mexican  Indians  in  1778  was  a 
warning  of  the  highest  importance.  I  have  spoken  of 
admitting  foreigners  into  all  our  colonies.  From  the 
manner  in  which  this  proposal  was  received,  I  have 
thought  it  prudent  to  fly,  as  if  I  had  been  guilty  of  a 
crime."  The  charge  d'affaires  of  France  transmitted 
to  the  Count  de  Vergennes  an  account  of  this  conver- 
sation.* 

Miranda  has  since  been  conspicuous  in  the  troubles 
of  Europe,  and  in  the  civil  wars  of  America.  He 
finished  his  stormy  career  in  a  melancholy  manner  in 
1816. 

The  Count  Moustier,  a  discreet  observer,  filled  in 
1788,  the  office  of  minister  of  France  in  the  United 
States.  He  gave  similar  information.  His  counsels 
tended  to  produce  great  changes  'n  the  government  of 
the  Spanish  colonies.  Their  execution  required  as 
much  courage  as  ability.  But  the  court  of  Madrid,  re- 
garded as  perpetual  institutions,  whose  wisdom  seemed 
attested  by  the  experience  of  three  centuries.     The 


*  Archives  of  the  Department  of  Forei<2;ii  Affairs. 


OF  LOUISIANA. 


li)l 


btatesmen  of  tliat  period  were  far  from  thinking  that, 
before  thirty  years  should  elapse,  Europe  would  cease 
to  have  America  as  an  appendage. 

Spain  thought  that  circumstances  only  required  from 
her  an  easy  sacrifice.  She  consented  in  1788  to  cede  the 
tree  navigation  of  the  Mississipf  i  to  the  states,  founded 
on  the  left  bank  of  that  river.  But  she  so  little  under- 
stood the  spirit  of  those  republicans,  that  she  had  no 
hesitation  in  proposing,  as  a  condition  of  this  grant, 
that  it  should  only  take  effect,  in  case  they  determined 
to  form  an  empire  distinct  from  that  of  the  Atlantic 
states.* 

This  overture,  in  which  the  intention  of  destroying 
the  federal  union  so  indiscreetly  app';G:ed,  was  not 
even  taken  into  consideration. 

What  is  still  more  surprising  than  this  proposition 
is,  that  Count  de  Vergennes,  who  had  advised  and  ne- 
gotiated the  alliance  with  the  United  States,  afterwards 
feared  the  effects  of  their  example,  and  allowed  a  pre- 
sentiment of  future  calamities  to  escape  him.  This 
minister  to  whom  the  affairs  of  Europe  were  so  fami- 
liar, had  not  at  that  time  foreseen,  that  this  treaty 
would  hasten  the  emancipation  of  the  rest  of  the  new 
world,  and  that  the  monopoly  to  which  the  islands  in  the 
gulf  were  subjected,  could  not  long  be  maintained  near 
a  powerful  republic,  interested  in  rendering  the  com- 
merce of  the  whole  world  independent  and  free.  Al- 
ways imbued  with  old  notions,  he  was  beginning  to 


11 


>jf'' 


(t 


*  Marshall's  Life  of  General  Washington,  5tli  vol.  page  152, 


152 


THE  HISTORY 


fear  the  preponderance  of  the  United  States,  when 
death  terminated  his  useful  labours. 

The  Count  Montmorin,  the  successor  of  Vergennes. 
thought  that  it  was  possible  to  prevent  the  indepen- 
dence of  the  rest  of  America,  and  that  it  was  his  duty 
to  do  so.  The  following  hues  are  from  the  instructions 
transmitted  to  the  French  envoy  in  the  United  States: 
"  It  is  not  advisable  for  France  to  give  America  all  the 
stability  of  which  she  is  susceptible.  She  will  acquire 
a  degree  of  power  which  she  will  be  too  well  disposed 
to  abuse."  Strange  words  to  follow  the  alliance  con- 
cluded in  1778.  This  epoch  was  still  recent;  the 
French  ministers,  seconded  by  the  wishes  not  only  of 
France  but  of  all  Europe,  had,  by  effectual  and  sincere 
efforts,  contributed  to  the  independence  of  the  thir- 
teen states;  and  ten  years  afterwards,  the  view  of  their 
own  success  amazed  them,  and  inspired  them  with 
alarms  that  came  too  late.  Instead  of  following  the 
inevitable  developments  of  this  revolution,  and  con- 
forming their  conduct  to  it,  they  had  conceived  the 
idea  of  checking  its  course.  They  imagined  that  a 
few  lines  of  instructions,  given  by  the  cabinet  of  Ver- 
sailles to  an  envoy  of  the  king,  would  arrest  the  pro- 
gress and  change  the  views  of  many  millions  of  fami- 
lies settled  in  fertile  and  boundless  territories,  and 
enjoying  all  the  advantages  of  independence. 

Montmorin  was  alarmed  at  the  progress  of  the  thir- 
teen states  of  the  American  Union.  But,  if  his  judg- 
ment respecting  them  was  erroneous,  all  the  other  ca- 
binets, that  had  then  become  hostile  to  this  revolu- 


OF  LOUISIANA. 


I.W 


lion,  were  equally  blinded.  Such  were  the  dispositions 
of  Europe  towards  America,  when  troubles  that  had 
been  long  foreseen  began  to  agitate  France.  Germs 
of  insurrection  had  likewise  been  scattered,  and  were 
fermenting  in  all  parts  of  the  new  world.  Events  whicli 
occurred  in  1793  pointed  out  the  influence  that  Lou- 
isiana would  one  day  have  in  the  affairs  of  that  conti- 
nent, and  from  that  time  the  lot  of  this  great  province 
might  have  been  predicted. 

The  revolution,  that  had  taken  place  in  France,  had 
put  an  immense  power  in  the  hands  of  men  without 
experience  in  public  affairs,  and  incapable  of  making 
a  good  use  of  their  authority.  They  had  too  little  in- 
telligence to  conceive  that  a  state  can  prosper  without 
colonies.  They  sent  to  the  United  States  a  new  mi- 
nister plenipotentiary,  who  was  particularly  instructed 
to  sound  the  dispositions  of  the  Louisianians  with  re- 
spect to  the  French  republic;  to  omit  no  means  of 
taking  advantage  of  them,  if  circumstances  should  ap- 
pear to  him  favourable;  and  to  direct,  in  a  special 
manner,  his  attention  to  the  designs  of  the  Americans 
on  the  Mississippi. 

This  minister  was  Genet,  a  young  man  whom  an 
excellent  education  had  prepared  at  an  early  age  for 
pubhc  affairs;  though  he  was  by  his  restless,  turbulent, 
and  bold  character,  as  well  as  by  his  views  as  a  politi- 
cian, entirely  on  a  level  with  the  statesmen  who  had 
chosen  him.  It  was  then  seen  to  what  errors  the  sen- 
timent of  liberty  may  conduct  even  those  who  taste  its 
true  benefits.    The  Americans,  separating  the  liberty 

20 


I§^^i 


iM:l 


"I*! 


I  L-  'V 


m 


\i 


**»*i^ 


ijiM 

I 

'^mm 

■If 

ip       : 

|i£x£ 

J 

ll    ■' 

1.04 


THK  HISTOUY 


wliicli  France  had  just  assumed  to  herself  from  every 
thing  violent  and  criminal  that  she  had  connected  with 
it,  received  young  Genet  as  the  messenger  of  liumanity 
restored  to  its  rights.  He  arrived  at  Charleston  in  April. 
179.3.  The  envoy  of  a  rising  republic,  he  was  received 
with  demonstrations  of  joy  that  he  might  well  have  re- 
garded as  universal.  Intoxicated  by  a  welcome  of  which 
there  had  been  no  example,  except  at  the  epoch  of  the 
alliance  between  Franco  aid  the  United  States,  he  did 
not  wait,  before  announcing  his  character,  to  be  recog- 
nised by  the  government;  but,  as  soon  as  he  landed. 
he  engaged  in  transactions  tiiat  were  justly  considered 
by  those  who  were  not  blinded  by  their  passions  as  a 
real  violation  of  the  law  of  nations.  Too  soon  invest- 
ed with  a  character  which  requires  great  maturity  of 
intellect,  he  authorized  the  fitting  out  of  privateers,  in- 
stituted consular  courts  of  admiralty,  and  considered 
himself  entitled  to  confer  on  the  French  consuls  the 
power  of  pronouncing  the  condemnation  of  prizes 
taken  from  the  English,  and  ordering  their  sale.  The 
instructions  which  he  had  icceived  from  the  commit- 
tees of  the  convention  breathed  the  hatred  that  they 
bore  to  Washington,  who  was,  they  dared  to  say,  en- 
tirely devoted  to  England.  After  Genet  was  recognised 
by  the  American  government  as  minister  of  the  French 
republic,  he  redoubled  his  boldness,  and  set  no  limit? 
to  the  rights  which  he  claimed  in  his  official  character. 
At  fifteen  hundred  leagues  from  France  he  thought 
himself  as  powerful  as  if  he  had  been  sent,  supported 
by  a  French  army,  to  the  court  of  an  insignificant  Eu- 


OF  LOUISIANA. 


155 


ropcaii  prince.  Tlic  fcderul  government  behaved  with 
lirmness  and  dignity,  and  ctVcctually  resisted  his  at- 
tempts; but  the  young  minister  renewed  them  with- 
out cessation,  and  as  his  official  notes  and  memoirs, 
swelled  with  citations  from  publicists  and  learned  men, 
made  no  impression  on  the  cabinet,  he  scattered  them 
every  where,  and  exerted  himself  to  produce  an  excite- 
ment in  the  public  mind.  He  had  secret  or  avowed 
adherents  in  several  of  the  states,  and  even  in  con- 
gress. Inflated  by  their  support,  and  having  become 
truly  formidable,  he  carried  his  audacity  and  impru- 
dence so  far  as  to  accuse  Washington  himself,  who 
was  then  president  of  the  United  States,  of  violating 
the  constitution.  He  even  allowed  the  menace  to  es- 
cape him,  "  of  appealing  from  the  president  to  the  peo- 
ple, of  carrying  his  accusation  before  congress,  and  of 
including  in  it  all  the  aristocratic  partisans  of  England, 
and  monarchical  government.'' 

Soon  apprized  of  the  state  of  things  there,  by  the 
reports  of  his  correspondents,  and  of  the  adventurers 
who  had  advanced  to  the  Mississippi,  he  believed,  with 
much  reason,  that  if  he  could  make  a  sudden  attack 
on  Florida  and  Louisiana,  he  would  find,  not  only 
among  the  inhabitants  of  the  western  territories,  but 
even  at  New  Orleans,  a  numerous  party  prepared  to 
second  him.  He  was  assured  that  all  Louisiana  de- 
sired to  return  under  the  dominion  of  France,  and  he 
seriously  set  about  making  the  conquest  of  it:  he  pre- 
pared a  co-operation  of  naval  forces,  which  were  to 
'endezvous  upon  the  coast  of  Florida.     The  principal 


•■'II  ':i^^^ 


T-M 


j  11-  1"- 
III  It*)    ^i 


m 


T'CSti'' 


:R!; 


•56 


THE  HISTORY 


body  ot*  land  troops  was  to  crabark  in  Kentucky,  anu 
descending  tlie  Ohio  and  Mississippi,  to  invade  unex- 
pectedly New  Orleans.  He  liad  regulated  in  advance 
the  pay  of  the  troops,  their  rations,  the  distribution  of 
the  booty,  and  even  the  division  of  the  lands  among  the 
soldiers,  with  the  portion  reserved  to  the  French  re- 
public. Finally,  he  abused  the  privileges  of  legations 
so  far  as  to  raise  bodies  of  troops  in  the  tv.'o  states  of 
South  Carolina  and  Georgia,  and  he  received  in  them 
French  and  Americans,  without  distinction.  Though 
restrained  for  a  moment  in  his  extravagances  by  the 
moderation  and  firmness  of  the  government,  he  soon 
recommenced  his  attacks  by  exhausting  all  the  decla- 
mations which  the  conventional  doctrines  could  furnish, 
and  thus  resumed  his  ascendancy  over  the  multitude. 
The  federal  government  was  informed  of  the  fa- 
vourable reception  which  the  proposition  of  inva- 
ding New  Orleans  met  with  in  several  of  the  states. 
These  hostile  preparations  gave  it  the  more  uneasi- 
ness, as  it  was  then  carrying  on,  with  the  court  of 
Madrid,  a  negotiation  relative  to  the  navigation  of 
the  Mississippi.  Washington  promptly  addressed  in- 
structions to  the  governor  of  Kentucky,  with  a  view 
of  moderating  this  excitement.  He  informed  him 
that  four  Frenchmen,  bearers  of  commissions  from 
M.  Genet,  were  openly  travelling  through  that  state 
preparing  an  expedition  against  Louisiana.  That  mi- 
nister himself,  he  added,  was  to  be  the  commander-in- 
chief.  The  inhabitants  of  Kentucky  were  but  too  well 
disposed  to  second  hini-     They  resolved,  in  their  pn- 


OF  LOUISIANA. 


157 


vate  assemblies,  to  lay  before  congress  their  claim  for 
the  most  entire  liberty  of  navigating  the  Mississippi, 
and  recommended  to  their  representatives  to  employ 
decent  but  imperative  terms,  and  such  as  suit  the  lan- 
guage of  a  people  speaking  to  their  servants.  The 
governor  replied  to  the  despatches  of  the  secretary  of 
state,  that  "  he  had  neither  the  power  nor  intention  of 
preventing  the  people  from  asserting  rights  necessary 
to  their  existence;  and,  as  to  those  who  had  planned 
the  expedition,  he  doubted  whether  there  was  any  legal 
authority  to  restrain  or  punish  them,  at  least  before 
they  have  actually  accomplished  it."  From  the  exag- 
gerated consequences  to  which  the  first  magistrate  of 
Kentucky  carried  the  abstract  rights  of  man,  we  may 
judge  of  the  greatness  of  the  crisis. 

Washington,  personally  insulted  by  the  diplomatic 
proceedings  of  Genet,  considered  the  public  tranquil- 
hty  in  danger.  To  appeal  from  the  president  to  the 
people,  was  to  summon  the  people  to  sedition.  Five 
or  f 'X  months  after  the  arrival  of  this  p  ^nipotentiary, 
who  had  become,  as  it  were,  the  chief  of  a  faction,  the 
American  ministers  informed  the  French  government 
"  that  the  proceedings  of  its  envoy  in  no  respect  cor- 
responded with  the  dispositions  that  animated  the 
French  republic;  that,  on  the  contrary,  he  was  exert- 
ing himself  to  embroil  the  United  States  in  war  with- 
out, and  to  spread  discord  and  anarchy  at  home,  and 
they  demanded  his  recall  as  necessary  to  the  mainte- 
nance of  a  good  understanding." 


!;#«»« 


';^? 


m. 


m 


m 


!  I  I 


158 


THE  HISTORY 


The  answer  to  this  demand  was  delayed  by  the  dis- 
tance.    Genet  continued  his  bold  practices,  and  the 
government  was  about  to  suspend  his  diplomatic  func- 
tions and  deprive  him  of  the  privileges  attached  to  his 
ofHcial  character,  when  it  received  the  news  of  his  re- 
call.    His  successor  arrived  soon  after,  and  througli 
this  new  plenipotentiary  the  United   States  were  in- 
formed that  the  French   government  entirely  disap- 
proved the  conduct  of  Genet.    This  young  man,  who 
seemed  destined  by  his  talents  and  acquirements  to  fill 
honourably  his  public  career,  fell  into  a  sort  of  obscu- 
rity, in  consequence  of  his  having  been  prematurely 
called  to  perform  duties  that  require  experience  and 
prudence  even  more  than  learning.    His  active  mind 
was  subsequently  directed  to  the  useful  arts,  and  with- 
out doubt  his  efforts  in  those  matters  have  been  at- 
tended with  more  fortunate  results  than  his  political 
proceedings.     But  the  seditious  and  violent  impulse  to 
insurrection  which  he  had  given  to  the  people  of  the 
west  had  been  so  well  received,  that  it  lasted  after  Ik 
had  ceased  to  be  its  principal  mover.   The  inhabitant? 
of  Kentucky,  deprived  of  the  hope  of  conquering  Lou- 
isiana, presented  petitions,  in  which,  reducing  their 
demand  to  the  free  navigation  of  the  Mississippi,  they 
accused  the  administration  of  the  United  States  of  in- 
attention to  the  public  interests,  threatened  it  with  a 
dismemberment  of  the  Union,  and  declared  that  "by 
the  h-iw  of  nature,  the  navigation  of  the  Mississippi  be- 
longed to  them;  that  they  wished  to  have  it,  that  the^ 


OF  LOUISIANA. 


159 


would  have  it,  and  that  if  the  government  neglected  to 
secure  it  to  them,  it  would  be  guilty  of  a  crime  towards 
them  and  their  posterity." 

The  senate  and  house  of  representatives  did  not  no- 
tice the  violent  language,  and  the  disregard  of  the  rules 
of  rational  liberty,  with  which  these  representations 
were  drawn  up,  but  they  took  into  consideration  the 
state  of  a  numerous  agricultural  population,  without 
manufactures,  which,  spread  on  the  banks  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi and  its  tributaries,  could  only  exist  and  extend 
itself  by  commerce,  by  the  sale  of  the  products  of  the 
earth,  and  by  a  free  navigation  of  that  river.  The 
two  houses  declared  that  "the  right  of  the  United 
States  to  this  navigation  was  incontestable,  and  that 
the  necessary  measures  should  be  taken  to  secure  its 
enjoyment.*' 

After  the  recall  of  Genet,  a  small  force  which  was  to 
have  co-operated  in  the  projected  invasion,  landed  on 
the  coast  of  Florida.  It  was  said  to  be  only  the  ad- 
vanced guard  of  a  more  considerable  body.  On  the 
arrival  of  these  feeble  auxiliaries,  a  few  French  and 
Americans  assembled  in  Georgia.  But  these  volun- 
teers, being  deprived  of  their  chief,  dispersed;  the 
French  passed  over  to  the  Indian  territory  to  await 
new  orders.  They  were  there  in  a  most  destitute  con- 
dition, and  many  of  them  became  victims  of  the  In- 
dians. 

A  few  deserters  from  the  army  of  the  United  States 
had  joined  these  bands  of  adventurers.  They  saw  with 
'cgret  the  rich  bootv,  at  which  thcvhad  aimed,  escape 


10 


.1)1 


160 


THK  HISTORY 


them.  These  tumults  were  not  entirely  calmed  till  to- 
wards the  middle  of  1794;  but  other  troubles  broke 
out,  and  were  felt  even  in  Pennsylvania.  These  dis- 
turbances affected  the  popularity  of  the  great  Wash- 
ington, and  troubled  the  peace  of  his  last  years.  By 
prudent  and  vigorous  measures,  however,  he  succeed- 
ed in  appeasing  the  clamours  of  the  factions,  but  it  was 
easy  to  see  that  the  navigation  of  the  Mississippi  and 
the  possession  of  what  remained  of  Eastern  Louisiana 
would  always  be  an  object  of  ambition  to  the  new  states 
of  the  Union.  This  truth  did  not  reach  the  politicians 
of  the  French  convention.  The  committee  of  public 
safety  thought  that  it  might  try  other  means  of  restoring 
to  France  the  province  which  she  had  not  been  able 
to  recover  through  the  attempts  of  Genet. 

During  the  negotiations  of  Basle,  in  1795,  this  com- 
mittee gave  instructions  to  M.  Barthelemy,  the  ambas- 
sador of  the  republic,  "  to  demand  the  restoration  of 
Louisiana  and  the  cession  of  the  Spanish  part  of  St. 
Domingo,  or  that  France  should  retain  the  province  of 
Guipuscoa,  and  particularly  Fontarabia  and  St.  Sebas- 
tian, which  had  been  conquered  by  her  arms." 

Louis  XIV.  had  also  entertained  the  design  of  uniting 
the  province  of  Guipuscoa  to  France,  and  at  the  time 
of  the  treaty  of  partition  of  the  11th  of  October,  1698. 
for  the  Spanish  succession,  it  had  formed  a  part  of  the 
Dauphin's  portion.* 

The  lands  of  the  Spanish  part  of  St.  Domingo  arc 


*  Colbert  de  Torci.  Negotiations  for  the  succession  of  Spain. 


OP  LOUISIANA. 


161 


not  inferior  in  quality  to  those  of  the  French :  they  are 
better  watered  and  much  more  extensive.  But  culti- 
vation had  made  the  French  colony  twenty  times  more 
valuable  than  the  Spanish.  The  convention,  glancing 
at  these  advantages,  had  imagined  that  to  acquire  ter- 
ritory was  to  ensure  productions.  We  believe  that 
such  success  could  only  have  been  attained  after  a  long 
course  of  years,  and  that  it  depended  on  conditions 
which  u  was  not  in  the  power  of  France  to  fulfil.  The 
present  state  of  St.  Domingo  renders  useless  the  ex- 
amination of  these  questions. 

Barthelemy  opened  the  negotiations  on  the  three 
propositions  contained  in  his  instructions.  Spain 
thought  at  that  time  that  it  was  for  her  interest  to  re- 
tain Louisiana,  and ,  though  St.  Domingo  was  the  old- 
est of  her  settlements  in  America,  though  its  civil  and 
ecclesiastical  jurisdiction  extended  over  the  islands  of 
Cuba,  Porto  Rico,  and  other  possessions,  it  decided  to 
cede  it. 

The  directory  succeeded,  at  this  period,  to  the  na- 
tional convention.  Principally  attentive  to  the  affairs 
of  Europe,  it  learned  with  a  sort  of  indifference  the  sa- 
crifice to  which  Spain  consented,  as  well  in  order  to 
preserve  peace  as  on  account  of  the  disordered  state  of 
her  finances,  and  the  absolute  impossibility  of  making 
a  resistance  proportionate  to  the  dangers  to  which  she 
was  exposed. 

England,  on  the  other  hand,  according  to  the  rules 
of  her  ordinary  policy,  and  conformablv  to  maxims,  the 


102 


iHK  iiisrouv 


soundness  of  wliicli  was  guarantied  by  experience,  di* 
reeled  her  attention  to  all  the  islands,  and  to  every 
part  of  the  American  continent.  An  incident,  the  par- 
ticulars of  which  deserve  to  bo  reported,  sufficiently 
showed  that  she  would  never  be  indifferent  to  the  fate 
of  Louisiana. 

Spain,  by  the  treaty  of  October,  1795,  had  ceded  to 
the  United  States  her  possessions  on  the  left  bank  of 
the  Mississippi,  only  reserving  the  Floridas.  But  after- 
wards, being  closely  allied  with  France,  and  foreseeing 
an  approaching  rupture  between  that  republic  and  the 
United  States,  into  which  she  was  afraid  of  being  drawn, 
she  had  regretted  the  sacrifice.  She  refused,  under  all 
sorts  of  pretences,  to  proceed  to  the  demarcation  of 
the  new  boundaries,  and  to  the  evacuation  of  the  ceded 
territories.  The  Spanish  governor  retained  the  post  of 
Natchez,  which,  according  to  him,  was  the  only  defence 
of  Louisiana  against  the  English  troops  assembled  at 
Quebec,  and  against  the  Indians  whom  the  government 
of  Canada  was  arming  and  disarming  at  pleasure.  The 
Americans  of  Kentucky  and  Tennessee  did  not  appear 
to  him  to  be  less  objects  of  dread.  In  fact,  the  inha- 
bitants of  the  ceded  territories,  the  greater  part  of 
American  or  English  origin,  murmured  at  seeing  their 
new  government  show  so  little  anxiety  to  enter  on  the 
possession.  They  manifested  great  impatience  to  pass 
from  the  arbitrary  sway  of  the  Spaniards  under  the  free 
government  of  the  United  States,  and  excited  the  sa- 
vages to  keep  themselves  prepared  for  war. 


OF  LOUISIANA. 


1(53 


It  was  under  tliesc  circumstances,  that  the  audacious 
project  of  a  man,  important  by  h.is  rank  and  official  sta- 
tion in  the  United  States,  was  discovered. 

Mr.  Blount,  governor  of  the  territory  of  Tennessee 
and  commissioner  of  the  United  States  among  the  In- 
dian tribes,  had  acquired,  during  a  long  residence  in 
those  districts,  an  intimate  knowledge  of  the  country 
and  its  inhabitants,  and  enjoyed  a  great  influence  there. 
Subsequently  named  a  member  of  the  senate,  when  the 
territory  was  admitted  into  the  Union  as  a  state,  he 
filled  that  office  in  1 797,  the  last  year  of  the  presiden- 
cy of  Washington.  Blount  was  not  worthy  of  the  con- 
fidence of  which  his  fellow-citizens  had  given  him  a 
proof  by  sending  him  to  congress.  His  affairs  were 
very  much  deranged,  and  he  conceived  the  idea  of  re- 
trieving them  by  a  signal  service  which  he  proposed  to 
render  to  England,  at  that  time  engaged  in  a  war  with 
Spain.  He  formed  the  plan  of  invading  Louisiana,  by 
means  of  forces  sent  from  Canada.  According  to  this 
scheme,  the  Enghsh  troops,  secretly  embarked  on  the 
lakes  in  the  autumn  of  1797,  would  have  landed  at  the 
southern  extremity  of  Michigan,  from  whence  the  Illi- 
nois river  is  not  far  distant.  The  invading  army,  de- 
scending this  river  to  its  junction  with  the  Mississippi, 
was  to  find  the  inhabitants  every  where  prepared  to 
second  it.  It  would  have  crossed  in  arms,  it  is  true,  a 
part  of  the  country  belonging  to  the  United  States;  but 
this  violation  of  their  territory  had  not  seemed  to  Blount 
a  circumstance  of  great  importance.  The  troops,  when 
thov  arrived  at  the  great  river,  would  have  found  there 


'<M 


lb  I 


HH:  HLSiOKV 


provisions  in  abundance,  and  boats  in  sufficient  num- 
ber, sent  from  the  Ohio,  by  the  inhabitants  of  Kentuc- 
ky. A  rapid  navigation  was  to  carry  them  in  a  few 
days  to  New  Orleans.  This  place  had  only  a  feeble 
Spanish  garrison,  in  no  condition  to  oifer  resistance. 
The  capital  once  occupied,  all  the  country  was  in  the 
power  of  the  English,  and  the  Floridas  would  have 
been  subjected  with  the  same  facility. 

Blount  first  disclosed  his  plan  to  Mr.  Liston,  the  Eng- 
lish envoy  to  the  United  States.  This  minister,  a  pru- 
dent observer  of  the  usages  of  dipl^^macy,  without  ci- 
ther welcoming  or  repelling  confidence,  let  the  senator 
miderstand  that  he  must  address  himself  directly  to 
the  British  cabinet,  which  this  intriguer  accordingly 
did.  Obliged  to  deliver  his  plans  and  memoirs  to  an 
intermediate  agent,  he  betrayed  himself  by  the  care 
which  he  took  to  recommend  great  secrecy,  and  by 
the  mystery  with  which  he  accompanied  all  his  pro- 
ceedings. His  memoirs,  having  been  put  on  board  of 
the  vessel  in  which  his  messenger  was  to  embark,  fell 
into  the  hands  of  the  captain,  who  considered  it  his 
duty  to  transmit  them  to  the  president  of  the  United 
States,  who  was  then  Mr.  John  Adams,  the  successor 
of  Washington  in  that  station.  The  president  com- 
municated them  to  congress,  by  whom  they  were 
published.  The  envoy,  Mr.  Liston,  gave  formal  as- 
surances of  being  a  stranger  to  the  plot,  and  the 
American  ministers  pubhcly  declared,  "that  it  was 
not  probable  that  the  P^nglish  had  any  knowledge  of 
it."    The  offence  committed  by  Blount  was  not  pro- 


OF  LOUISfANA. 


166 


vided  lor  by  law.  A  committee  of  the  house  of 
representatives  proposed  to  prosecute  him  for  the 
crime  of  high  treason ;  he  was  not,  however,  tried,  but 
the  senate  expelled  him  by  a  vote,  not  of  two-thirds 
only,  as  the  constitution  requires,  but  unanimously. 
We  are  aware  of  only  one  other  case  of  expulsion 
from  the  senate.  In  the  house  of  representatives  not 
a  single  one  has  occurred,  from  1787,  when  the  con- 
stitution of  the  United  States  was  adopted,  to  the  pre- 
sent day. 

This  enterprise,  though  abortive,  was  a  warning  lor 
Spain.  Her  means  of  defence  in  America  were  by  no 
means  proportionate  to  the  vast  extent  of  the  domi- 
nions which  she  possessed  there,  and  the  policy  of 
England  was  no  mystery. 

The  Louisianians  supposed  their  country  for  ever  a 
stranger  to  the  movements  of  Europe,  when  the  events 
of  the  French  revolution,  and  the  troubles  in  the  West 
Indies  recalled  it  to  the  attention  of  the  ephemeral  au- 
thorities that  then  governed  the  new  republic.  From 
the  committee  of  public  safety,  the  authority  had  passed 
to  a  directory,  still  more  incapable  of  managing  the 
affairs  of  a  great  state.  The  maritime  war  between 
France  and  Great  Britain  had  lasted  for  eight  or  nine 
years.  The  United  States  were  about  to  be  drawn 
into  it  by  a  party  friendly  to  England,  in  spite  of  all 
their  efforts  to  preserve  a  neutrality  from  whence  they 
derived  immense  advantages.  But  France  and  Eng- 
land were  exerting  themselves  with  equal  ardour  to 
break  it  for  their  own  benefit,  and  thev  each  calculated 


m 

3r« 


^11 


^*.*-. 


f^ 


.mtli-n 


mm 


^*'Mt: 


iill 


liiiJ 


III 


-,^... 


ibb 


THE  HISTORY 


that,  by  obtaining  the  assistance  of  these  neutral  statt;, 
its  own  commerce  would  come  in  for  a  share  of  the 
profits  that  they  were  then  enjoying.  The  directory, 
through  its  imprudence,  rendered  a  rupture  inevitable. 
It  had  pursued  a  course  opposed  to  that  long-sighted 
poHcy,  which,  without  imposing  on  the  United  States 
unequal  and  onerous  conditions,  had  dictated  the  trea- 
ties of  1778.  These  treaties,  congress,  in  consequence 
of  the  most  offensive  provocations,  declared  in  179li 
to  be  broken  and  rescinded. 

As  France  and  the  United  States  were  separated  by 
great  distances,  the  land-armies  could  not  reach  one 
another,  and  there  were  only  a  few  naval  engagements, 
jflostilities  of  the  most  unjust  and  vile  kind  that  war 
authorizes  were  not,  however,  on  that  account  less  fre- 
quent;— these  consisted  of  attacks  of  privateers  on  dis- 
armed merchant  vessels,  incapable  of  defending  them- 
selves, and  the  owners  of  which,  in  the  regular  course  ol 
their  own  business,  are  constantly  employed  in  forming 
innocent  and  peaceable  connexions  among  all  the  coun- 
tries of  the  world.  Louisiana  had  rather  gained  than 
lost  by  this  state  of  things  so  favourable  to  contraband 
trade,  and  the  Spanish  governors  themselves  willingly 
lent  their  aid  to  the  blows  which  were  continually  in- 
flicted on  the  prohibitory  system.  Its  rigour  was  also 
moderated  in  the  other  Spanish  colonies,  and  such 
great  advantages  resulted  from  it,  that  the  cabinet  of 
Madrid  shut  its  eyes  to  the  consequences  that  this 
relaxation  might  have  on  the  maxims  of  its  ancient 
policv. 


OF  LOUISIANA. 


167 


At  the  peace  of  1763,  Spain  had  recovered  the  Ha- 
vannah,  a  conquest  made  by  England,  only  by  aban- 
doning to  her  the  Floridas  in  exchange.  This  acqui- 
sition was  then  important  for  the  English,  because  it 
covered  Georgia  and  the  other  continental  colonies 
which  were  still  subject  to  them.  Spain  had  again 
made  herself  mistress  of  the  Floridas  during  the  war 
of  American  independence;  and  England,  to  whom 
their  possession  had  formerly  appeared  so  advantage- 
ous, found  them  almost  a  burden  after  the  thirteen  co- 
lonics had  ceased  to  belong  to  her.  They  would  have 
been  a  subject  of  misunderstanding  between  the  United 
States  and  the  British  government.  England,  there- 
fore, abandoned  them  to  Spain  at  the  peace  of  1783. 
But  by  thus  enlarging  its  territory,  this  power  became 
exposed  to  be  attacked  upon  an  immense  extent  of  sea 
coast.  It  also  began  to  take  umbrage  at  the  rapid  in- 
crease of  the  confederated  states.  On  no  side  did  it 
see  the  means  of  safety,  when  an  unexpected  event  en- 
tirely changed  the  aspect  of  afiairs. 

The  directory  of  the  French  republic,  in  the  midst 
of  the  innumerable  difficulties  which  its  ignorance  had 
accumulated,  after  having  involved  the  country  in  war 
with  the  United  States,  had  entirely  lost  sight  of  the 
colonies,  which  France  still  retained.  This  incapable 
and  base  government  was,  almost  without  resistance, 
stripped  of  its  authority  by  a  general,  who,  to  great 
military  talents,  united  most  of  those  qualities  which 
constitute  the  statesman.  To  this  day  he  is  incontes- 
tablv  the  first  among  the  illustrious  men  of  the  world; 


*«!] 


,jil 


0 


''«w 


'.  m 


■tQi 

Pu. 

Bll 


168 


THE  IlISTORV 


hi 


it  may  be  doubted  whether  posterity  will  assign  him  a 
place  among  the  great  men. 

Bonaparte,  in  assuming  the  supreme  conduct  of  af- 
fairs, found  those  of  politics  and  war  in  extreme  con- 
fusion. This  condition  of  the  country  did  not  surprise 
him,  and  he  thought  that  he  was  adequate  to  every 
thing.  !t  was,  indeed,  from  the  midst  of  this  chaos 
that  he  originai(:;d  and  brought  to  a  happy  conclusion 
the  most  important  negotiations.  Still  young,  and  al- 
ready celebrated  by  more  victories  than  the  most  fa- 
mous captains  have  achieved  in  a  long  career,  he  as- 
pired to  another  kind  of  glory,  when  he  saw  himself  at 
the  head  of  the  government.  He  then  only  considered 
peace  as  a  means  of  carrying  to  the  greatest  height  the 
commerce,  navigation,  and  manufactures  of  France, 
and  his  passion  for  war  seemed  for  a  time  to  be  put  to 
rest.  The  English,  on  their  part,  masters  of  the  com- 
merce of  the  world,  would  have  wished  to  retain  it 
without  rivals.  As  to  other  matters,  the  two  nations 
were  well  disposed  to  a  sincere  reconciliation.  Equal- 
ly distinguished  by  almost  incredible  progress  in  the 
sciences  and  arts,  pursuing  with  the  same  zeal  every 
thing  which  can  embellish  and  meliorate  society,  it 
appeared  that  nothing  farther  was  required  from  the 
governments  than  to  abstain  from  thwarting  these 
good  dispositions.  The  first  overtures  of  peace  made 
by  France  were,  however,  immediately  repelled  at 
London,  where  the  phantom  alone  of  a  French  repub- 
lic, active  and  powerful,  still  inspired  dread.  But  as 
the  cabinet  of  Madrid,  encouraged  even  by  its  igno- 


OP  T,OITrSIA\A. 


\m 


raiicc,  was  necessarily  inoro  incline*!  to  ncfrotiatc,  Bo- 
naparte considered  tlic  occasion  a  favourable  one  for 
realizing  the  project  in  which  the  directory  had  faded. 

The  cession  that  France  made  of  Louisiana  to  Spain 
in  1703,  had  been  considered  in  all  our  maritime 
and  commercial  cities  as  impolitic  and  injurious  to  the 
interests  of  our  navigation,  as  well  as  to  the  French 
West  Indies,  and  it  was  very  generally  wished  that  an 
opportunity  might  occur  of  recovering  that  colony. 

One  of  the  first  cares  of  Bonaparte  was  to  renew 
with  the  court  of  Madrid  a  negotiation  on  that  subject. 
He  was  then  far  from  thinking  that  contributions  for- 
cibly imposed  on  Europe  could  take  the  place  of  those 
immense  tributes,  which  she  vohuitarily  pays  to  the 
manufactures  and  navigation  of  commercial  nations. 

The  possession  of  Louisiana  seemed  to  him  parti- 
cularly favourable  to  the  project  that  he  had  formed  of 
giving  to  France  a  preponderance  in  America.  Ho 
connected  with  his  views  another  design,  which  he 
subsequently  attempted  to  realize — a  league  of  all  the 
maritime  powers  against  the  pretensions  of  England — 
and  he  hoped  in  this  way  to  put  an  end  to  the  domi- 
nion which  she  had  arrogantly  assumed  over  the  sea. 
"  France,''  said  he,  "  cannot  reconcile  herself  to  this 
inert  existence,  this  stationary  tranquillity,  with  which 
Germany  and  Italy  are  contented.  The  English  reply 
with  disdain  to  my  olibrs  of  peace;  they  have  protect- 
ed the  black  rebels  of  St.  Domingo,  even  so  far  as  to 
liberate  them  and  give  them  arms.  Very  well, — I  will 
make  of  St.  Domingo  a  vast  camp,  and  I  will  have 


!"'»»^» 

*■*. 


<•)« 


n 


■«.*«„,„ 


^ 


S*Hi»« 


>?a 


■m 


m 


■  'tvin 


m^t 


I*::?!! 


^^ 


Illicit; 


IT(» 


iJiK  HI'-I'diiV 


tlicrc  ;in  annv  always  ready  to  carry  war  into  then 
own  colonics." 

Reflection  soon  made  him  abandon  these  chimerical 
plans;  and,  skilfully  profiting  by  the  great  ascendancy 
which  the  victory  of  iMarcngo  and  the  fortunate  events 
by  w'hich  it  was  succeeded  gave  him,  he  opened  a  ne- 
gotiation at  Madrid,  and  easily  persuaded  the  Prince 
of  Peace,  the  all  powerful  minister  of  the  catholic  kinir. 
that  Louisiana,  by  being  restored  to  France,  would  bo 
a  bulwark  for  Mexico,  and  a  security  lor  tbe  tranquilli- 
1y  of  the  gulf. 

On  the  1st  of  October,  IHOO,  a  treaty  was  concluded 
at  St.  Ildephonso,  the  third  article  of  which  is  in  these 
terms:  "  His  Catholic  Majesty  promises  and  engage; 
to  retrocede  to  the  French  rc[)ublic,  six  months  aftci 
the  full  and  entire  execution  of  the  above  conditions 
and  stipulations  relative  to  His  Royal  Highness,  the 
Duke  of  Parma,  the  colony  or  province  of  Louisiana. 
with  the  same  extent  that  it  now  has  in  tlie  hands  oi 
Spain,  and  that  it  had  when  France  possessed  it,  and 
such  as  it  ought  to  be  after  the  treaties  subsequent]} 
entered  into  between  Spain  and  other  states."  The 
treaty  of  Madrid  of  the  21st  of  March,  1801,  reneu> 
these  dispositions;  and  the  first  article  contains  a  tie- 
tailed  account  of  the  conditions  on  which  the  cession 
was  made.  Tlic  motive  specially  assigned  was,  "that 
the  reigning  Duke  of  Parma,  as  a  compensation  for 
that  duchy  and  its  dependencies,  os  well  as  of  the  ces- 
sion which  the  king  of  Spain  made  of  Louisiana. 
should  be  put  in  possession  oT  Tuscany,  under  the 


OF  hOLl.SIAX  \. 


17J 


iiiirne  of  the  kin<jdoin  of  Etniriu."  TijLrjC  ^lipulutioiiii, 
whicli  could  not  then  be  executci].  boctnne  subsequent- 
ly the  ground  of  numy  complaints  on  the  part  of  the 
Spaniards,  and  J  Louisiana  continued  for  some  tinie 
longer  under  their  dominion. 

Spahi,  by  uniting  l^ouisiana  in  ITOii  to  her  vast  Ame- 
rican states,  was  not  actuated  by  any  intention  of  ex- 
tending her  navigation  or  augmenting  her  treasures. 
She  still  followed  the  itucient  policy  of  those  barbarous 
nations,  who  only  think  their  frontiers  secure  wlien  vast 
deserts  separate  them  from  powerful  nations.  The 
neighbourhood  of  Franco  seemed  to  her  less  to  be 
dreaded  than  that  of  the  United  States. 

The  English  and  Americans  go  in  quest  ol'  vacant 
countries  in  order  to  settle  in  them;  and  it  is  by  a  nu- 
merous ])opulation  that  tiiey  provide  for  the  defence  of 
the  frontiers  of  their  colonies.  I'ut  the  French  were 
the  friends  and  alhes  of  the  Spaniards,  and  their  con- 
tact was  not  dangerous ;  since,  notwithstanding  con- 
tinued cfibrts  during  a  century  and  a  half,  they  liad 
never  been  able  to  make  a  single  continental  colony 
prosper. 

Spain,  in  consenting  to  the  retrocession,  uiserted  a 
condition,  that  she  should  have  the  preference,  in  case 
Franco,  in  her  turn,  shoidd  be  disposed  again  to  cede 
Louisiana.  We  shall  see,  in  the  scquf;!,  the  embar- 
rassments which  resulted  from  this  stipulation. 

Whilst  these  things  were  passing  in  Europe,  the  in•^ 
icrnal  and  foreign  policy  of  the  United  States  under- 
went a  ureal  chanjre.  which  had  so  much  inHuenco  on 


mn 
m 


**^^'^4H, 


rJ-.-SN^.! 


..   M 


i 


'-''■M 


^i-H' 


visw-issj'i 


'••4, 


172 


tin:  iii>Tuii\ 


the  laic  ol'  Louisiana,  tliat  it  is  necessary  that  the 
juiiicipal  circumstances  connected  with  it  should  be 
known. 

From  the  time  ol'  VVasliington's  presidency,  two  sys- 
tems of  government  had  divided  the  opinions  of  the  most 
distinguished  American  statesmen.     One  party,  extra- 
vagant champions  of  democracy,  wished  to  re.   -  ain  the 
powers  of  tiie  superior  government  and  strengthen  tlic 
authority  of  eacli  of  the  thirteen  states,  by  giving  to  tlio 
state  governments  whatever  power  could  be  taken  fiom 
the  general  confederacy.   This  party,  which  was  called 
republican  or  democratic,  reckoned  in  its  ranks  the 
most  able  men.     The  other  party  had  Washington  for 
its  head,  and  it  could  not  have  had  a  more  virtuou- 
leader  nor  one  more  deserving  of  confidence.     This 
great  man  retired  after  a  presidency  of  eight  years. 
His  successor  was  Mr.  John  Adams,  a  statesman  who 
entertaining  probably  too  liigh  an  opinion  of  his  own 
great  superiority,  had  succeeded  in  impressing  maiiv 
other  persons  with  the   same  sentiments   respecting 
him.     J3ut,  wlicn  he  reached  the  presidency  of  tlie 
United  States,  he  did  not  entirely  justify  either  his  own 
confidence  in  himself  or  that  of  the  party  which  hud 
advanced  him  so  high.     He  professed  great  admir.i- 
tion  for  the  British  government ;  it  has  even  been  as- 
serted that  he  would  have  seen,  without  alarm,  the 
presidency  of  the  United  States  held  for  life  by  the 
same  individual.     He  did  not  dissemble  his  aversion 
for  the  French  nation  and  the  little  esteem  that  he  en- 
tertained for  thctf  goverunieiit.    The  American  peo- 


OF  LOUISLWa, 


17:5 


pie  were,  however,  liir  Irom  sharing  Ins  opnnous.  A 
sort  of  instinct,  the  fervour  of  whicli  was  not  yet  re- 
laxed^  drew  them  towards  the  doctrines  and  principles 
whicli  the  French  revolution  had  adopted. 

It  was  this  ditference  of  opinion  between  the  people 
and  their  rulers  that  ruined  the  party  of  Mr.  Adams. 
The  Ibderalists,  who  had  abused  their  power  to  remove 
the  republicans  altogether  from  the  management  of 
afl'airs,  after  having  had  the  control  of  the  government 
for  a  few  years,  lost  their  influence  in  most  of  the 
states  of  the  Union,  and  their  efforts  could  not  effect 
the  re-election  of  Mr.  John  Adams  for  a  second  presi- 
dential term. 

Mr.  Jefferson,  the  most  distinguished  citizen  m  the 
republican  party,  succeeded  him,  and  the  aspect  of 
tilings  immediately  changed. 

Mr.  Adams,  yielding  to  the  general  opinion,  had, 
probably  contrary  to  his  own  wishes,  commenced  ne- 
gotiations with  the  directory.  They  acquired  more 
consistency  when  Bonaparte  took  the  reins  of  govern- 
ment. This  negotiation  and  that  of  Madrid  were  ter- 
minated at  the  same  time.  'I'lie  convention  with  the 
United  States  was  signed  at  Paris  on  the  liOth  of  Sep- 
lemher,  1800,  and,  on  the  next  day,  October  1st,  the 
treaty  with  Spain  was  concluded  at  St.  Ildephonso. 

The  war  with  England  still  continued.  The  cession 
of  Louisiana  by  Spain  to  France,  stipulated  by  the 
treaty  of  St.  Ildephonso,  was  not  yet  made  public,  and 
Bonaparte  was  careful  ;iot  to  divulge  it  by  taking  pos- 
'imioii  of  the  provaice. 


Him '" 


ii 


II 


J  74 


illK  Hi&i'OKV 


A  maritime  peace  was  an  essential  prehminary  ii. 
the  undisturbed  enjoyment  of  this  acquisition  by 
Franco;  but,  in  treating  of  peace  with  Enghuid,  it. 
would  have  been  embarrassing  to  have  asked  the  con- 
sent of  that  power,  or  even  its  tacit  acknowledgment: 
the  negotiation  would  have  been  fettered  by  it,  and 
perhaps  broken  oft".  It  cannot  be  doubted  that  Lou- 
isiana might  have  been  attacked  by  the  English  and 
easily  conquered,  had  they  been  informed  during  the 
war  that  it  had  again  become  a  French  colony.  Un- 
der such  circumstances,  secrecy  was  the  most  prudem 
advice  that  could  be  ofl'ered  to  the  newly  formed  cabi- 
net of  the  Tuileries. 

England  had  in  I'act  Ibund  herself  obliged  to  listch 
to  new  propositions  of  peace.  Ail  the  powers  were 
eager  to  negotiate  with  Bonaparte,  and  treaties  ot 
peace  rapidly  succeeded  one  another.  After  having 
had  numerous  allies.  Great  Britain  was  on  liie  eveol 
being  left  alone.  A  negotiation  was  then  commenced 
at  London.  All  the  difticulties  were  soon  removed, 
and  preliminaries  were  signed  on  the  1st  of  October. 
1801,  a  year  after  the  treaty  of  St.  Ildephonso. 

The  lirst  consul  then  regarded  the  termination  ot 
the  war  as  tho  surest  means  of  confirming  his  authori- 
ty. Those  who  closely  observed  !iis  conduct  and  heard 
his  remarks,  would  have  thought  that  he  was  animated 
by  really  pacific  intentions,  if  his  conditions  of  defini- 
tive peace  had  not  been  at  the  same  time  directly  op- 
posed to  the  maxims  of  the  power  with  which  he  had 
Just  signed  tlic  preliminaries.,    lie  tU  sued  an  entire  re 


OF  LOUISIANA. 


nt 


\;i()i'Ocity  and  equal  tarifts  in  matters  of  commerce. 
He  reminded  the  people  of  Europe  that  the  new  mari- 
time code,  of  which  England  pretended  to  dictate  the 
articles,  was  only  an  abuse  of  foi'cc,  and  that  all  the 
other  powers  ought  to  unite  to  prevent  its  being  acted 
on.    He   raised  their  courage   by  his  own   example. 
;ind  he  hoped  to  be  able  to  revive  the  league,  honour- 
ably formed  under  Louis  X  VI.,  for  the  free  navigation 
of  neutrals,  and  which  was  so  unfortunately  dissolved 
before  it  had  acquired  consistency.    Disposed  to  make 
a  sincere  peace,  he  was  not  the  less  persuaded  of  the 
necessity  of  using  against  England  the  means  by  which 
that  power  sustains  its  supremacy  over  the  seas.     In 
iho  state  of  depression  to  which  all  the  nations  whom 
navigation  formerly  enriched  were  fallen,  he  was  con- 
vinced that,  in  case  of  new  aggressions,  they  must 
agree  to  shut  the  ports  of  ♦ho  contin(  nt  to  English  ves- 
sels.   It  was  in  this  view,  as  yet  scarcely  developed, 
that  he  required  that  the  treaty  should  secure  a  free 
navigation  to  all  flags;  that  the  naval  forces  of  the  ma- 
ritime powers  should  at  the  peace  be  reduced  to  what 
might  be  necessary  for  the  protection  of  the  coasts 
and  adjacent  districts.     He  wished  that  their  employ- 
ment, when  not  at  war,  sliould  be  confined  to  putting 
an  end  to  piracy,  to  cultivating  naval  science  with 
more  advantage  than  merchant  navigators  are  capable 
of  doing;  and,  finally,  to  afibrding  to  commerce  such 
assistance  as  may  be  necessary  in  difficult  circum- 
stances. 
There  was  an  interval  of  six  months  between  the 


» 


.'■■k 


^,:»fl! 


i7G 


THE  HISTORY 


conclusion  of  the  preliminaries  and  the  peace  of 
Amiens,  which  was  signed  on  the  27tii  of  March. 
i802.  The  slowness  with  which  the  business  pro- 
ceeded disappointed  the  public  impatience  at  London. 
where  open  murmurs  were  already  heard.  However, 
these  six  months  had  been  sufficient  to  produce  a  grcai 
change  in  the  political  state  of  the  world. 

A  man  of  an  elevated  genius,  of  a  decided  and  de- 
termined character,  too  young  to  have  reflected  on  the 
rights  of  other  nations,  and  on  the  danger  of  wound- 
ing their  independence,  was  continually  hurried  on,  to 
omit  nothing  which  could  increase  his  own  glory  and 
render  the  nation,  whose  destinies  he  had  undertaken 
to  direct,  powerful  and  formidable. 

The  first  acis  of  his  govcnment,  after  the  treaty. 
augured  favourably,  however,  for  the  duration  of  peace 
The  general  amnesty  to  the  emigrants  was,  as  it  were. 
a  first  pledge  of  his  sincerity.*  Numerous. classes  of 
banished  Frenchmen,  who  were  flying  from  place  to 
place.,  suffering  all  the  ills  of  poverty,  were,  in  spite  of 
menacing  and  barbarous  laws,  recalled  by  degrees  to 
their  common  country.  The  restoration  of  the  altars 
was  felt  as  a  general  want,  and  this  work  was  entered 
on  without  intoierance  or  fanaticism.  Wise  laws  were 
promulgated,  and  treaties  of  peace  concluded  with  dif- 
ferent powers.  In  this  same  year,  1802,  the  finance- 
of  France  were  in  a  more  flourishinij  state  than  at 
iiny  previous  or  subsequent  period. 


'in 


*  April  20th,  IHOC. 


OF  LOUISIANA. 


177 


This  prosperity  was  not  owing  to  those  foreign  tri- 
butes which  afterwards  gave  to  tlie  treasury  a  tran- 
bient  opulence,  the  source  of  hatred  and  reprisals. 
There  was  no  longer  a  war  establishment:  far  from 
fearing  new  ta.Yes,  there  was  an  expectation  that 
old  ones  would  be  lightened,  and  the  continuance  of 
peace  was  calculated  on  as  the  necessary  condition  of 
the  re-establishment  of  order. 

France  found  in  peace  all  the  advantages  to  which 
she  had  long  aspired ;  she  obtained  for  her  northern 
provinces  a  frontier  conformable  to  the  great  divisions 
traced  by  nature,  and  which  had  been,  for  centu- 
ries, the  object  of  her  ambition;  for  her  commerce 
and  navigation  she  had  the  most  justly  founded  expec- 
tations, that  the  possession  of  Louisiana  and  the  sub- 
jection of  St.  Domingo,  enlarged  by  the  whole  part 
that  had  belonged  to  Spain,  would  enable  her  to  re- 
sume her  rank  among  the  maritime  powers  and  com- 
mercial states. 

The  republic,  in  these  new  circumstances,  and  un- 
der a  wise  and  pacific  government,  might,  witliout 
giving  umbrage  to  its  neighbours,  have  attained  to  a 
sufficiently  high  degree  of  prosperity.  The  earnest 
desire  for  peace,  which  had  been  entertained  in  Eng- 
land during  the  latter  part  of  the  war,  had  caused  the 
preliminary  articles  to  be  received  there  v/ith  that 
joy  and  enthusiasm  which  indicate  the  assent  of  the 
people. 

But  these  feelings  of  good-will  were  not  of  long 
continuance.    It  was  early  perceived  that  the  genius 

23 


'  1  '*«< 


SH." 


178 


THE  HISTORY 


bt 


of  Bonaparte,  so  vigilant,  so  well  calculated  to  con- 
ceive and  to  act  in  war,  would  not  be  long  resigned  to 
the  repose  of  peace.  His  activity  was  soon  directed 
towards  foreign  commerce,  and  ardently  bent  on  the 
navigation  and  colonies,  which  before  the  revolution 
secured  to  France  advantages  that  peace  had  not  en- 
abled her  to  recover.  Then,  this  ambition,  though  al- 
together legitimate,  awakened  in  the  English  govern- 
ment those  distrusts  and  fears  from  which  ministers, 
who  are  really  responsible,  can  never  be  free. 

It  was  in  the  interval  between  the  signing  of  the  pre- 
liminaries and  the  definitive  treaty  of  peace,  that  the 
first  consul  caused  himself  to  be  recognised  as  presi- 
dent of  the  Italian  republic.  The  English  ministry  did 
not,  however,  think  it  requisite  on  that  account  to 
break  off  the  negotiations,  and  it  even  abstained  from 
making  any  observations  on  so  extraordinary  a  pro- 
ceeding. 

Bonaparte  had  been  named,  in  J  799,  first  consul  for 
ten  years.  On  the  8th  of  May,  1 802,  a  decree  of  the 
senate  added  ten  years  to  the  first  term.  Three  months 
afterwards,  he  was  named  for  life,  with  the  privilege  ol 
designating  his  successor.  Europe  was  astonished  at 
these  innovations,  when  other  decrees  of  the  senate 
spread  still  more  lively  alarms.  These  acts,  of  a  de- 
scription altogether  new  to  the  public  law  of  Europe, 
successively  united  to  France  different  countries,  with- 
out any  other  motive  than  that  of  convenience;  and 
the  first  consul  even  disdained  to  enter  on  an  explana- 
tion of  these  bold  measures.    It  wa;;  from  the  parlia 


OK  LOtiJMANA. 


179 


mcnt  ot'  England  that  his  pride  received  tho  first 
lesson. 

Opinions  can  be  openly  expressed  in  those  assem- 
blies with  a  publicity,  which,  if  it  is  sometimes  indis- 
discrcct,  has  the  inestimable  advantage  of  keeping 
rulers  constantly  on  their  guard  against  their  own 
faults;  of  making  them  acquainted  with  the  wishes 
and  opinions  of  the  people;  of  informing  them  of  eve- 
ry thing  that  relates  to  the  good  of  the  country,  and  of 
enlightening  them  on  its  real  interests.  The  truth,  thus 
made  public,  benefits  every  one,  and  oftentimes  even 
the  censures  by  which  the  ministers  appear  the  most 
offended,  are  those  from  which  they  expect  to  derive 
in  secret  the  greatest  advantage.  This  was  the  case 
a',  the  conjuncture  to  which  we  refer. 

The  sessions  of  parliament  for  1802  and  1803,  were 
distinguished  at  their  commencement  by  the  ability  of 
those  who  attacked  and  defended  the  terms  of  tho 
peace,*  and,  at  a  later  period,  by  the  agreement  of  all 
parties  in  a  desire  to  recommence  the  war.  We  will 
only  refer  to  the  discussions  which  relate  to  Louisiana, 
and  to  the  interests  of  France  and  England  in  Ame- 
rica. 

The  address  of  the  house  of  commons  in  May, 
1802,  on  occasion  of  the  definitive  treaty,  contained 
these  remarkable  words:  "We  rely  on  his  majesty's  pa- 
ternal wisdom  for  resisting  every  fresh  encroachment, 
(of  whatever  nature,)  which  shall  be  attempted  on  the 

•  Signed  OQ  the  27th  of  March,  1803. 


'Sii 


V'U.**iJ! 


-  v. 


rn 


tuo 


THE  HISTORY 


1 

■IMUi&a 

iBh|H^ 

iS^DRp 

1 

m 

1 

mm 

maritime,  commercial,  or  colonial  rights  of  the  Britv&ii 
empire." 

There  was  nothing,  however,  in  the  first  debates 
that  announced  an  approaching  rupture.  Some  dis- 
tinguished statesmen  approved  of  the  peace.  They 
considered  it  bad  policy  to  keep  a  rival  nation  in  a 
state  of  inferiority,  and  without  the  power  of  unfold- 
ing the  means  of  prosperity  for  which  it  is  indebted  to 
its  genius,  or  which  it  derives  from  nature;  and  they 
were  of  opinion  that  no  reconciliation  is  sincere,  if 
there  is  not  a  reciprocal  advantage  in  it,  and  that  it  is 
thus  that  generosity  benefits  even  those  who  practise 
it.  "  Let  us  allow,"  said  they,  "  let  us  allow  the  French 
to  have  at  heart  the  glory  and  happiness  of  their  coun- 
try, as  we  desire  the  glory  and  happiness  of  our  own. 
France  has  only  obtained  by  the  peace  advantages 
suitable  to  her  situation ;  they  will  be  the  surest  gua- 
rantees of  her  tranquillity  and  moderation  abroad, 
and  the  pledge  of  the  contentment  and  repose  of  tlie 
people  at  home." 

About  this  period  the  plan  of  reconquering  St.  Domin- 
go was  more  fully  known ;  it  powerfully  contributed  to 
awaken  the  jealousy,  with  wnich  our  prosperity  has  so 
often  inspired  England.  "  This  expedition,"  said  a 
member  in  addressing  the  house  of  commons,  "  is  for- 
midable, and  surpasses  any  heretofore  seen  in  the 
American  Archipelago.  It  seems  to  menace  Touis- 
Baint-Louvcrture,  but  we  shall  probably  see  the  French 
turn  the  black  regiments  of  that  chief  towards  the  con- 
quest of  Jamaica."    The  chancellor  of  the  exchequer? 


OF  LOUISIANA. 


lUi 


but  too  clearly  foreseeing  the  future,  replied;  "This 
expedition  should  be  for  us  a  source  of  tranquillity  ra- 
ther than  alarm;  for  the  usurpation  of  authority  by  the 
blacks  is  an  event  truly  to  be  dreaded,  and  one  which 
puts  in  jeopardy  the  security  and  repose  of  our  West 
India  colonies." 

Several  articles  of  the  treaty  gave  rise  to  more  ani- 
mated discussions;  and  the  ministers,  whose  work  the 
last  peace  was,  were  defended  by  their  own  friends 
with  so  little  warmth,  that  from  that  time  an  imputa- 
tion, too  grave  to  be  lightly  entertained,  gained  ground. 
Many  members  of  parhament  condemned  the  facility 
with  which  Lord  Cornwallis,  a  distinguished  warrior, 
but  inexperienced  in  negotiations,  had  acquiesced  at 
Amiens,  in  several  demands  of  France;  it  was,  they 
said,  a  proof  that  it  was  only  intended  to  gain  time. 

These  traducers  of  the  peace  were  not  so  numerous, 
but  they  were  more  clamorous  than  its  advocates;  they 
wished  to  establish  it  as  a  point  of  national  law,  that 
no  change  of  sovereignty,  no  accession  of  territory 
could  take  pkce  in  Europe  or  America,  without  the 
acquiescence  of  England. 

Thirty  years  before,  whilst  Great  Britain  was  ex- 
lending  its  sovereignty  over  the  finest  parts  of  Asia, 
without  any  other  state's  thinking  of  demanding  an 
account  of  her  conquests,  we  had  seen  her  jealousy 
carried  so  far  as  to  wish  to  make  war  on  France  and 
Spain,  in  order  to  prevent  the  latter  power  from  occu- 
pying a  few  desert  islands  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the 


sitraits  of  Magellan. 


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182 


THE  HISTORk 


The  opposition  blamed  Lord  Cornwallis  ibr  not 
having  expressly  inserted  the  usual  clause,  by  which  all 
previous  treaties  are  maintained  and  confirmed;  so  far 
as  they  are  not  at  variance  with  the  last.  "  This  omis- 
sion  was,"  they  said,  "  an  indirect  ratification  given  to 
the  abandonment  made  by  Spain  to  France,  agreeably 
to  the  treaty  of  Basle,  of  half  of  the  island  of  St.  Do- 
mingo. The  silence  of  the  treaty  of  Amiens,  is,  as  it 
were,  a  confirmation  of  the  union  of  Belgium  with 
France,  a  union  very  dangerous  to  England,  as  the 
shores  of  that  province  are  opposite  the  Thames,  that 
is  to  say,  of  London  itself.  In  a  word,  not  to  revive 
the  former  treaties,  particularly  those  of  Utrecht  and 
Fontainebleau,  is  to  put  in  question  the  rights  of 
England  to  Nova  Scotia,  Canada  and  Cape  Breton." 
Thus  the  English  claimed  the  stipulations  agreed  on  at 
Utrecht,  while  they,  a  few  years  afterwards,  considered 
as  abrogated  the  articles  of  the  same  treaty  which  had 
consecrated  the  rights  of  neutrality.  The  clamours  on 
the  subject  of  the  cession  of  Louisiana  to  France  were 
still  more  ardent.  "  It  wounded  essentially,"  it  was  said, 
"the  interests  of  England.  The  ports  which  France  was 
about  to  have  at  its  disposition  would  afford  facilities 
for  her  naval  depots,  and  multiply  the  dangers  of  the 
English  colonies,  in  case  of  war.  Canada,  which  was 
adjacent  to  northern  Louisiana,  would  be  soon  exposed 
to  the  attacks  of  the  French.  They  would  acquire 
over  the  United  States  an  ascendency,  which  would, 
sooner  or  later,  draw  that  republic  into  an  alliance 
against  the  naval  greatness  of  England,  and  the  superi 


OF  LOUISIANA. 


\H'A 


ority  of  her  flag.  New  Orleans  was  the  key  of  Mexi- 
co: the  two  Americas  ouglit  to  be  alarmed  at  a  change, 
which  above  all  threatened  the  Spanish  kingdoms  ot" 
that  great  continent;  and  the  cabinet  of  Madrid  could 
only  have  consented  to  the  treaty  in  obedience  to  force. 
If  it  had  been  known  by  the  two  houses  of  parliament, 
when  the  i^reliminaries  were  communicated  to  them. 
they  would  have  paused  before  they  approved  them. 
But  the  ministers  were  acquainted  with  it  before  sign- 
ing the  definitive  treaty,  and  they  were  inexcusable  for 
not  having  considered  it  an  obstacle  to  making  peace." 

Lord  Hawkesbury  conceived  that  he  ought  to  give 
explanations,  and  his  answer  deserves  to  be  reported. 
"To  judge  of  the  value  cf  Louisiana  in  the  hands  of 
the  French,"  said  he,  "  iet  us  recollect  that  they  have 
heretofore  possessed  it  for  a  long  period,  without  being 
able  to  render  it  prosperous;  though  they,  at  the  very 
same  time,  derived  great  advantages  from  their  insular 
colonies.  As  to  the  United  States,  this  transfer  does 
not  expose  them  to  any  danger.  I  have  too  high  an 
idea  of  their  power  and  resources,  to  entertain  any 
fears  for  them  on  account  of  their  new  neighbours. 
Were  it,  however,  otherwise,  their  alarms  could  but 
lead  them  to  unite  more  closely  with  us." 

This  minister  also  uttered  these  other  words,  so  ex- 
traordinary in  the  mouth  of  a  statesman:  "We  only 
wished  to  make  an  experimental  peace."  Lord 
Hawkesbury  thus  expressed  himself,  immediately  after 
the  signature  of  a  treaty,  all  the  articles  of  which  both 
parties  had  promised  to  execute  with  sincerity  and 


184 


TJir,  HISTORY 


good  faith.  Such  words  sometimes  escape  from  a 
speaker,  who,  in  his  desire  to  please,  forgets  that  they 
will  he  echoed  elsewhere  than  in  the  chamber  which 
he  is  addressing.  However,  the  explosion  of  public 
discontent  in  England  did  not  long  permit  the  first  con- 
sul to  deceive  himself.  He  could  from  thenceforth 
judge  of  the  effect  which  would  be  produced  by  a 
knowledge  of  the  design  that  he  entertained  of  se- 
curing to  France  commercial  advantages  in  America, 
and  of  creating  for  her  great  maritime  interests. 

The  treaties  of  peace,  which  he  dictated  as  a  con- 
sequence of  his  victories,  left  him  alone  formidable  in 
Europe,  and  it  depended  on  him  to  execute  them  at  his 
pleasure,  whilst  he  could  prescribe  a  mute  obedience 
to  the  other  powers :  this  unnatural  situation  could  only 
last  so  long  as  they  were  in  no  condition  to  change 
it.  But  Napoleon,  who  did  not  then  foresee  the  near 
return  of  war,  but  was,  on  the  contrary,  drawn  by  his 
disposition  to  tie  iloption  of  prompt  and  decisive 
measures,  thought  that  he  ought  to  proceed  without 
delay  to  the  execution  of  the  plan  that  he  had  formed. 
It  consisted  in  first  subjecting  the  revolted  colony,  by 
sending  there  such  considerable  forces  that  he  might 
be  justified  in  regarding  success  as  infallible.  After 
the  reduction  of  the  rebels,  a  part  of  the  army  was  to 
be  conveyed  to  Louisiana. 

The  events,  of  which  St.  Domingo  was  then  the 
bloody  theatre,  are  closely  connected  with  the  histoiy 
of  the  treaty  of  cession.  We  shall  therefore  anticipate 
the  course  of  the  principal  narrative,  and  state  summa- 


OF  l.Ol'lSIA.N  A. 


lii:j 


rily  the  issue  of  the  expedition,  which  htid  lor  its  ob- 
ject the  re-estabhshmcnt  of  tlic  French  sovereignty  in 
that  island. 

At  the  end  of  the  last  cenlurv,  and  after  the  ftightfui 
catastrophes  that  resulted  from  a  manumission  impru- 
dently proclaimed,  order  had  begun  to  be  re-established 
in  that  fine  colony.  But  ambition  soon  after  induced 
a  black  man  and  a  mulatto  to  take  up  arms,  and  the 
rivalry  of  these  two  men  kindled  anew  a  civil  war, 
which  the  mother  country  had  not  excited,  but  which 
she  probably  witnessed  without  dissatisfaction. 

The  two  factions  and  their  chiefs  were  equally  ar- 
dent in  the  profession  of  attachment  to  France,  and 
it  was  difficult  to  refuse  credence  to  their  declara- 
tions; for  they  had  both  equally  contributed  to  the  ex- 
pulsion of  the  English.  But  the  character  of  their 
fidelity  was  affected  by  the  difference  of  their  casts. 
Rigaud,  a  free  born  mulatto,  had  wished,  while  he  re- 
stored the  colony  to  France,  to  maintain  slavery,  and 
to  keep  for  his  party  the  plantations  conquered  from 
the  whites,  who  had  emigrated  or  been  allies  of  our 
enemies.  He  united  with  a  remarkable  capacity  the 
advantage  of  an  excellent  education.  He  had  become 
chief  of  all  the  people  of  colour,  who  were  born  free 
or  had  been  manumitted  before  the  revolution.  These 
men,  for  the  most  part  owners  of  blacks,  refused  to 
obey  the  laws  of  the  convention,  which,  by  proclaim- 
ing the  abolition  of  slavery,  only  left  them  land  with- 
out value,  for  they  did  not  conceive  the  possibility  of 
its  being  cultivated  in  any  other  manner  than  by  slaves. 


I     » 


^^m 


186 


TflR  HISTORY 


I 


Liberty,  moreover,  appeared  to  them  to  be  less  pre- 
cious, since  the  multitude  were  admitted  to  enjoy  it  in 
tlie  same  manner  with  themselves.  This  chief  com- 
manded, in  the  south  of  the  island,  an  army  com- 
posed of  about  six  thousand  mulattoes  and  blacks,  and 
a  few  whites.  This  band  was  very  much  attached  to 
him;  but  a  feeling  of  hatred,  which  was  sometime.^ 
open  and  declared,  and  at  others  secret  and  dissembled, 
divided  the  mulattoes  and  blacks,  even  though  they 
followed,  whilst  under  his  orders,  the  same  standard. 

Touissaint-Louverture,  a  black,  and  formerly  a  slave. 
commanded  at  the  Cape  and  in  all  the  northern  and 
central  parts  of  the  colony.  He  had  recalled  the  former 
proprietors  who  had  emigrated,  had  protected  them 
and  restored  their  lands,  with  the  exception  of  a  few 
plantations  that  had  been  seized  on  by  his  friends  and 
himself  But  he  had  only  exhibited  this  generosity  in 
tranquil  times.  He  acted  very  differently  in  war,  and 
being  persuaded  that  it  was  necessary  to  carry  it  on 
without  mercy,  when  the  sword  is  once  drawn,  lie 
pushed  his  success  without  giving  his  adversaries  any 
intermission,  and  if  he  met  with  a  reverse,  he  revenged 
it  by  fire  and  plunder.  His  enemies  accused  him  ot 
hypocrisy  and  dissimulation.  He  was,  they  said,  cold- 
ly cruel,  and  the  extermination  of  the  whites  formed 
part  of  his  plan  for  rendering  the  colony  independent. 
His  partisans  made  him  a  hero  and  a  statesman. 

Touissaint  may  be  more  impartially  judged  from  a 
view  of  his  life.  Obliged  in  his  infancy  to  obey  as  a 
slave,  unexpected  events  suddenly  made  him  the  equal 


OK  I.OtMSI A.N.A. 


i«: 


oi  tlic  whitfts,  and  l»c  tilled  his  new  place  witliont  em- 
barrassment or  arrogance.  He  entirely  forgot  what 
he  had  suffered  in  his  first  condition,  and  was  generous 
even  towards  many  of  whom  lie  had  reason  to  com- 
plain. His  activity  and  strength  were  prodigious,  and 
he  moved  with  extraordinary  rapidity  from  one  extre- 
mity of  the  colony  to  the  other,  according  as  circum- 
stances required  his  presence.  Vigilant,  sober,  and 
abstemious,  he  quitted  the  table  and  gave  up  every  re- 
laxation the  moment  that  business  demanded  his  atten- 
tion. An  upright  judge,  without  learning  or  education, 
an  able  general  from  the  very  day  that  he  ceased  to  be 
a  private  soldier,  he  was  dear  to  his  army,  and  the  ne- 
groes obeyed  with  a  sort  of  pride  a  man  of  colour, 
whom  they  considered  the  superior,  or  the  equal,  at 
least,  of  the  most  distinguished  white  man. 

He  was  aware  that  a  community,  without  labour  or 
industry,  soon  falls  into  a  state  of  barbarism,  and  he 
had  revived  agriculture  by  '•egulations  which  had  been 
attended  with  the  most  happy  results.  The  privileged 
productions,  the  precious  aliment  of  a  flourishing  com- 
merce, had  become  as  abundant  as  formerly;  but  their 
destination  was  mucli  changed.  The  plantations  were 
sequestered,  and  the  greatest  part  of  the  revenue  was 
paid  into  the  colonial  treasury,  instead  of  being  sent 
to  France.  Touissaint  and  his  government  thereby 
disposed  of  immense  riches,  which  gave  rise  to  the 
opinion  that  he  possessed  a  hidden  treasure.  There 
is  no  sufficient  authority  for  this  conjecture,  though 
we  are  far  from  rejecting  it.    He  exacted  labour,  not 


•'iijC- 


I     if 


MiV, 


niF,  HISTOIIV 


in  order  to  accumulate  treasures,  but  to  iullil  one  oi 
the  conditions  of  tlic  social  state.  "  I  know  how,"  he 
frequently  said,  "  to  unite  liberty  and  labour."  To  this 
end  all  his  proceedings  were  directed,  but  as  soon  as 
he  perceived  that  its  attainment  was  (juestionable,  he 
became,  though  he  was  not  without  elevation  of  soul. 
suspicious  and  implacable.  He  saw  flow,  without  pity. 
the  blood  of  every  one  who  was  convicted  of  havinjj 
put  in  danger  that  liberty  whicli  was  so  dear  to  him. 
on  his  own  account,  as  well  as  on  that  of  all  the  peo- 
ple of  his  colour,  and  he  no  longer  treated  of  business 
with  the  candour  and  good  faith  that  smooth  all  diflicul- 
tics.  According  to  him,  it  was  the  safety  of  the  blacks, 
his  own  safety  that  obliged  him  to  oppose  cunning  to 
perfidy;  and  the  secret  intelligence  which  he  kept  up 
with  the  emissaries  of  the  government  of  .Jamaica  was 
rendered  necessary  by  the  condition  of  St.  Domingo,  at 
the  period  that  he  was  acknowledged  as  its  master. 

His  army  was  composed,  in  1800,  of  about  twelve 
thousand  blacks.  V\  ar  between  men  who  are  distin- 
guished from  one  another  by  the  colour  of  the  skin  is  al- 
ways terrible,  because  they  at  last  believe  tliemselvcs  to 
be  of  two  different  species;  thus  when  a  black  man  and 
a  mulatto  met,  each  saw  in  the  other  an  enemy.  The 
slightest  hostilities  had  then  an  exterminating  character 
scarcely  known  among  savages.  Treason  and  secret 
violence  destroyed  in  this  colony  more  human  beings 
than  battles.  Rigaud,  too  weak  against  adversaries 
infinitely  superior  in  number,  had  thought  proper  to 
abandon  an  unequal  contest,  and  had  fled  to  France. 


OP  LOLISIANA. 


109 


Touissaint  made  a  constitution  for  the  colony;  he  sent 
it  to  the  first  consul,  who  was  very  much  dissatisfied 
with  it,  and  declared  that  it  should  never  be  put  in 
force. 

Such  was  the  state  ^f  aflairs,  when  Bonaparte,  on  the 
laith  of  the  preliminaries  of  London,  and  on  the  point 
of  concluding  the  definitive  peace,  conceived  tne  de- 
sign of  sending  to  the  colony  a  fleet  and  army  under 
the  command  of  General  Leclerc,  his  brother-in-law. 
Kightecn  thousand  troops  were,  at  first,  embarked  on 
hoard  of  thirty  ships  of  the  line,  for  he  was  afraid  to 
give,  by  freighting  transport  vessels,  too  much  publici- 
ty to  an  expedition  which  he  wished  to  keep  secret. 
It  was,  however,  well  known  at  St.  Domingo,  as  the 
English  did  not  neglect  to  apprize  the  mulattoes  and 
hlacks  of  it. 

Suspicions  and  jealousies  are  the  ordinary  relations  of 
cabinets  with  one  another,  and  at  the  very  moment  that 
they  are  making  mutual  professions  of  entire  confi- 
dence, they  fear  not  only  probable  perfidies,  but  even 
all  such  as  are  possible.  Although  the  first  consul  had 
only  been  a  short  time  at  the  head  of  afl^airs,  foreign 
statesmen  conceived  that  they  were  acquainted  with 
his  character,  and  they  did  not  rely  enough  upon  his 
political  probity  to  have  their  impressions  of  his  real 
intentions  removed  by  a  simple  declaration. 

Re-enforcements  were,  from  time  to  time,  sent  both 
to  the  fleet  and  army.  There  was  among  the  French 
officers  an  extraordinary  emulation  to  be  of  this  expe- 
dition.   Accustomed  to  glory,  the  attendant  on  great 


190 


rilE  HIHTOhV 


successes,  they  had  foreseen  none  of  the  dangcr> 
which  are  incurred  by  all  who  are  exposed  to  the  sun 
or  even  the  night  air  in  tropical  regions.  It  was  con- 
sidered a  high  favour  to  belong  to  the  expedition,  and 
the  number  of  generals  and  oflicers,  compared  with 
that  of  soldiers,  far  surpassed  the  ordinary  proportions, 
A  part  of  these  forces  was  composed  of  Spaniards 
and  Germans;  some  Poles  were  also  among  them 
These  legions,  which  had  been  drawn  from  their  coun- 
try to  contribute  to  the  great  events  that  changed  the 
face  of  Europe,  had  become  embarrassing  to  France 
in  her  new  state  of  peace.  The  idea  occurred  of 
sending  them  to  St.  Domingo.  Thus  these  soldiers, 
many  of  whom  were  scarcely  manumitted  from  servi- 
tude,  were  destined  to  restore  to  the  bonds  of  slavery. 
Africans,  with  whom  they  had  no  ground  of  quarrel. 
The  French  troops  landed  on  the  3d  of  February. 
1802.  On  the  arrival  of  these  forces,  the  black  gene- 
ral,  Christophe,  set  fire  to  Cape  Fran^ais,  and  this 
beautiful  city  wasi  partially  consumed.  The  blacks 
adopted  it  as  their  law  to  lay  waste  their  own  country, 
and  to  burn  down  the  houses,  in  order  to  deprive  the 
enemy  of  resources.  This  rage,  and  these  conflagra- 
tions but  too  well  announced  the  disasters  which  en- 
sued. From  the  beginning,  the  success  of  the  Euro- 
peans, who  gained  several  battles  from  the  blacks,  was 
balanced  by  the  losses  that  they  sustained  from  the 
climate.  There  was  no  longer  any  question  of  rebel- 
lion, but  the  hostilities  had  assumed  the  character  of  a 
war  between  two  independent  nations. 


UF  l.Utlal.\iNA. 


191 


A  ^'reat  cliangc  had  followed  the  abohtion  of  slavery. 
During  a  century  and  a  hull',  an  habitual  terror  had 
kept  the  blacks  in  the  most  abject  subjection  to  their 
masters.  They  had  then  such  an  idea  of  the  superior- 
ity of  the  whites,  that,  in  the  thickest  and  most  solitary 
lorcst,  the  sight  of  a  wliitc  mun  would  have  been  suf- 
ticient  to  inspire  twenty  blacks  with  dread.  This  al- 
most supernatural  power,  which  had  vanished  at  the 
proclamation  of  liberty,  had  been  suddenly  renewed, 
mi  the  arrival  of  a  numerous  army  of  white  troops, 
aod,  for  some  time,  it  only  required  a  mere  patrol  to 
put  to  flight  a  battalion  of  blacks.  Some,  however, 
resisted  with  success,  and  then  almost  every  engage- 
ment became  a  battle.  These  whites,  so  long  dreaded 
as  beings  of  a  superior  species,  were  but  ordinary  ene- 
mies, when  the  negroes  discovered  that  it  was  so  easy 
to  make  them  prisoners,  or  put  them  to  death.  Tliey 
daily  recovered  their  courage,  and  soon  had  as  their 
rallying  words,  wherever  the  French  were  found  in 
small  numbers;  "Let  us  kill  our  oppressors."  The 
mulattoes  and  free  negroes  practised  atrocious  ven- 
geance on  the  whites;  they  were  in  their  turn  thrown 
by  hundreds  into  the  ocean,  and  the  sight  of  their  car- 
casses, washed  back  on  the  shores,  drove  this  unfor- 
unate  race  to  horrible  reprisals.  Where  they  could 
not  massacre,  they  set  fire  to  the  house. 

Leclerc  committed  still  greater  faults  in  his  political 
conduct  than  as  general  of  the  army.  It  is  doubtful, 
however,  whether  these  faults  should  hv  imputed  to 
him  alone.    Government  had  wished  to  direr.t  every 


m 


i  ■! 

J  92 


IIIK  IIISIUKV 


i 


thing  from  Paris.  His  public  iiistnictioiis  ordered  liiin  to 
make  use  of  the  influence  of"  tliose  who  were  free  be- 
fore the  revolution,  in  order  to  bring  back  all  the  iiewh 
manumitted  population  to  an  intermediate  state,  wliicli 
it  was  wished  to  assimilate  to  the  condition  of  serl's, 
He  had  also  been  authorized  to  hold  out  the  expecta- 
tion, that  the  estates  would  be  soon  restored  to  tin 
former  possessors.  This  he  announced,  and  his  pub- 
lic acts,  which  at  first  conformed  with  his  declaratic"  . 
did  not  entirely  satisfy  any  party. 

But  another  design,  of  which  the  first  consul  had 
confided  to  him  the  secret,  was  to  convert  the  estate? 
of  the  emigrants  into  military  grants,  and  to  indcmnily. 
by  these  usurped  riches,  the  generals  and  other  ofiicers 
to  whom  the  peace  of  Amiens  had  closed  in  Europe 
the  career  of  glory  and  fortune.  There  is  reason  to 
believe,  that  many  of  them  would  not  have  wished  to 
profit  by  this  spoliation,  which  it  would,  moreover, 
have  been  difficult  to  carry  into  effect.  The  negroet;. 
although  they  had  been  brought  back  to  labour  by 
Touissaint  and  his  officers,  would  have  resisted  new 
masters,  who  would  only  have  had  over  them  the  right 
of  conquest.  The  right  of  property,  resulting  froiii 
purchase,  was  consecrated  by  the  practice  of  so  many 
centuries,  that  the  slave  himself  deemed  it  entitled  to 
respect.  The  first  consul  had  been  advised,  but  not 
convinced,  that  if  there  was  any  means  of  re-establish- 
ing discipline,  and  even  slavery,  it  was  only  to  be  el- 
fected  by  recalling  to  their  former  plantations  the  inai- 


oF  MM  IMANA. 


193 


icrs,  lo  whom  the  bhicks  had  for  so  lon'f  a  time  bo- 
longed.  At  tlie  slight  of  tliem,  habit,  fear,  aU'ection, 
that  consciousness  of  degradation,  which  in  an  abject 
state  debases  a  man  in  liis  own  eyes,  would  have  ren- 
dered obedience  comparatively  easy. 

Lcclcrc  commenced  the  execution  of  the  unjust  plan 
of  making  a  distribution  of  lands  to  officers  of  the  army. 
He  was  obliged  to  renounce  it  almost  immediately,  in- 
asmuch as  he  liad  only  a  short  and  precarious  posses- 
sion of  the  difterent  parts  of  the  colony-  He  had  re- 
course to  other  expedients;  but,  instead  of  making 
concessions  with  sincerity,  deceptive  promises  were 
profusely  given.  Sometimes  there  was  a  show  of  mo- 
deration, at  others  of  severity,  but  never  cither  frank- 
ness or  firmness. 

The  first  consul  liad  been  advised,  that,  if  Rigaud 
returned  to  St.  Domingo,  his  presence  would  occasion 
an  open  schism  between  the  blacks  and  mulattoes, 
which,  according  to  the  vulgar  maxim,  would  advance 
the  authority  of  the  French  government.  He  was, 
therefore,  sent  to  serve  under  the  general-in-chief;  but, 
when  he  left  France,  the  change  that  had  occurred  in 
the  views  of  Leclerc  and  his  counsellors  towards  the 
mulattoes  was  not  known.  The  French  general  liad 
lit  first  apparently  shown  a  disposition  to  employ  the 
aid  of  this  cast,  but  the  mulattoes  soon  became  objects 
of  suspicion  and  jealousy  to  his  habitual  associates.  Ri- 
gaud, who  was  welcomed  on  his  return  by  all  the  peo- 
ple of  his  colour  with  transports  of  joy,  inspired  the 
white  population  with  great  dread.  Touissaint  was  also 


194 


THK  HISTORY 


alarmed  by  the  presence  of  Ins  old  enemy,  and  Rigaiul 
was  re-embarked  for  France,  by  order  of  General  Lq' 
clerc.  The  other  niulattocs  soon  perceived,  that,  al- 
ter they  liad  been  employed  against  the  blacks,  they 
would  be  sacrificed  in  their  turn.  Wearied  by  frequent 
accusations,  and  by  the  constant  watch  that  was  kept 
over  their  conduct,  they  became  so  many  secret  ene- 
mies. Touissaint-Louverture  maintained  a  defensive 
position,  which  differed  little  from  actual  hostilitici:. 
He  seemed  for  a  moment  disposed  to  submit  to  retire- 
ment, but  he  soon  found  that  a  person,  once  all-pow- 
erful in  arms,  and  supreme  chief  of  the  gov  jrnment. 
cannot  safely  return  to  obscurity.  The  parties  sought 
him,  and  he  again  engaged  in  intrigues,  which  were 
not  long  kept  secret,  Leclerc,  after  some  hesitation. 
conceived  that  he  ought  to  open  a  secret  negotiation 
with  him,  for  the  war  and  climate  had  already  destroyed 
eight  thousand  Europeans. 

Great  caution  was  at  first  employed  in  treating  with 
Touissaint.  Trusting  to  friendly  expressions,  which 
were  communicated  to  him  through  his  children,  he 
by  degrees  approached  the  general-in-chief. 

Still  treating  as  an  equal  with  the  French  generals. 
he  consented  to  lay  down  his  arms  on  the  following 
conditions:  "The  sovereign  dominion  of  the  island  to 
be  restored  to  France ;  the  soil,  buildings,  and  other 
immovable  property,  to  the  old  proprietors;  liberty  to 
the  slaves,  who  are  to  labour  for  wages."  T'hese  pro- 
positions,  the  sincerity  of  which  appeared  doubtful. 
were  rejected  with  disdain;  and.  after  having  sent  bac!; 


ick 


OP  LOUISIANA. 

to  France  the  chief  of  the  mulattoes,  the  design  was 
entertained  of  depriving  the  blacks  of  a  still  more  for- 
midable leader. 

'  Violence  and  stratagems,  which  it  has  been  in  vain 
attempted  to  justify,  placed  Touissaint  in  the  power  of 
Leclerc.  This  general  made  him  embark  for  France. 
The  blacks  foresaw  but  too  well  the  fate  that  was  re- 
served for  their  idol,  who  was  thus  removed  from  their 
aft'ections  and  their  cause.  But  the  whites  began  to  re- 
gain their  courage.  They  might  have  believed,  during 
a  few  months,  that  the  colony  was  restored  to  its  obe- 
dience to  the  French  republic.  Commerce  was  car- 
ried on  with  confidence ;  many  of  the  proprietors  re- 
turned to  their  plantations.  The  blacks  seeing  them- 
selves without  any  guide  appeared  confounded;  but 
this  manifest  violation  of  plighted  faith  had  spread 
among  them  a  secret  indignation  and  the  desire  of 
vengeance.  The  confidence  of  the  mulattoes  had 
been  destroyed  by  sending  away  Rigaud;  the  resent- 
ment of  the  blacks  was  excited  when  Touissaint  was 
stolen  from  their  affection.  These  feelmgs  were  soon 
openly  manifested,  and  the  rising  was  general,  be- 
cause it  was  the  work  of  reflection:  the  perfidious  then 
experienced  the  effects  of  their  own  treachery,  as  all 
their  proclamations  passed  for  gross  falsehoods,  and 
not  a  black  remained  faithful  to  the  French. 

The  fleet  and  army  at  their  departure  from  Europe 
had  been  furnished  with  abundant  supplies  for  six 
months:  those  who  had  advised  the  expedition  had  not 
tfiiled,  in  order  to  remove  all  objections,  to  say  that  it 


ru 

ku 


li)(i 


f\n:  iiisioiu' 


was  suflici'^iit  to  provide  the  first  supplies,  that  so  ricli 
a  colony  offered  immense  resources,  and  that  the  war 
would  support  itself.  But  great  difficulty  was  soon  ex- 
perienced in  combining  vast  operations  in  a  country 
destitute  of  most  things  necessary  for  a  European 
army.  The  commanding  general  had  supposed  that, 
as  he  was  the  near  connexion  of  tlie  first  consul,  he 
might,  on  his  arrival  at  the  place  of  destination,  ren- 
der all  interests  subordinate  to  the  success  of  his  ex- 
pedition. In  such  circumstances,  a  general,  removed 
for  some  thousand  leagues  from  any  authority  superior 
to  his  own,  pushes  to  extreme  consequences  the  princi-^ 
pie,  *'  I  must  support  my  army."  What  had  happened 
forty  years  before  in  Canada  and  India  was  here  repeat- 
ed; the  colony  was  made  acquainted  with  requisitions 
against  which  all  France  had  risen  in  arms,  forced  loans, 
and  every  thing  that  could  irritate  it  against  its  pretend- 
ed liberators.  The  embarrassments  were  not  diminished 
by  this  abuse  of  authority,  and  in  the  distress  which 
the  army  experienced,  the  chiefs,  while  they  took  pos- 
session of  every  thing  that  could  be  useful  to  them, 
adopted  the  plan  of  making  payments  in  bills  of  ex- 
change drawn  on  the  treasury  of  France.  Destined 
at  first  to  satisfy  real  wants,  they  were  soon  used  to  re- 
ward  friends?  and  appease  the  discontented.  Those 
who  had  been  plundered,  under  pretence  of  requisi- 
tions, found  afterwards  the  means  of  settling  amicably 
the  price  of  .their  effects  and  the  rate  of  compensation 
for  their  losses;  and  as  the  sums,  thus  stipulated  to  be 
paid,  occasioned  no  other  trouble  than  that  of  manu- 


sn 


OF  LOUISIANA. 


197 


lacturing  drafts,  they  were  given  witli  such  profusion, 
that  they  were  presented  in  a  short  time,  at  the  French 
treasury,  to  the  amount  of  more  than  sixty  milhons. 
The  French  also  sent  to  the  United  States  to  ask  as- 
sistance and  credit,  but  all  these  resources  were  insuffi- 
cient; for  when  a  design  miscarries,  the  disorder  is  un- 
bounded. 

Other  chiefs  rose  up  in  the  place  of  Touissaint-Lou- 
verture.  Dessalines,  who  assumed  the  command  of 
the  black  army,  was  very  inferior  to  him  in  capacity. 
He  was,  however,  endowed  with  a  vigorous  and  perse- 
vering character.  Naturally  sanguinary,  he  had  by  ter- 
ror and  executions  acquired  a  great  authority  over  the 
blacks.  His  army  was  every  day  increased  by  those 
who  abandoned  the  labour  of  the  plantations.  The 
month  of  August,  so  fatal  to  Europeans,  had  arrived, 
and  the  French  army  was  constantly  weakened  by  ir- 
reparable losses.  The  crews  of  most  of  the  merchant 
vessels  were  reduced  to  a  fourth  of  their  complements. 
Debauchery,  strong  drinks,  and  unhealthy  food  likewise 
contributed  to  destroy  the  army;  and  an  epidemic, 
more  murderous  than  the  sword  of  the  negroes,  car- 
ried its  horrible  ravages  into  the  French  camp. 

The  general-in-chief,  attacked  nine  months  after  his 
arrival  with  a  mortal  malady,  began  to  reproach  him- 
self for  the  faults  which  his  inexperience  and  interest- 
ed counsels  had  led  him  to  commit.  He  died  on  the 
2(1  of  November,  1802,  as  much  in  consequence  of 
chagrin  as  of  the  unhealthfulness  of  the  climate. 


i&  \ 


,"^«'  ■.. 


.      •  '^'  t 


M^-^. 


198 


I  UK  HFSTORV 


ii 


Rocharnbeau  assumed  the  command  after  Leclcrc'.- 
death.  Considerable  re-ciiforcements  were  sent,  and 
he  at  first  obtained  some  advantages.  But  after  a  year 
of  alternate  successes  and  reverses,  he  was  obliged  to 
shut  himself  up  at  the  Cape  with  the  wreck  of  his 
army.  Besieged  by  the  negroes  on  the  land  side. 
blocked  in  on  that  of  the  sea  by  an  English  squadron. 
he  had  recourse  to  some  desperate  measures  to  pro- 
long liis  resistance.  He  imposed  contributions  on  the 
inhabitants,  which  could  only  be  levied  by  violent  acts. 
A  merchant,  who  had  probably  exhausted  all  his  means, 
declared  that  he  could  not  pay  the  sum  at  which  he 
was  assessed.  The  general  caused  him  to  be  shot. 
whUe  even  the  blacks  viewed  the  execution  with  hor- 
ror. He  capitulated  on  the  18th  of  November,  1803, 
with  Dessahnes  for  the  evacuation  of  the  town,  and. 
on  the  29th,  with  the  English  for  the  surrender  of  the 
ships  of  war  and  merchant  vessels.  Six  or  seven  thou- 
sand whites,  who  were  received  on  board  the  English 
fleet,  considered  themselves  fortunate  in  having  thus 
got  away  from  the  fury  of  the  rebels. 

These  voluntary  exiles  fled  to  Louisiana,  the  United 
States,  Cuba  and  Jamaica.  Some  of  them,  who  were 
in  an  entirely  destitute  state,  awaited  in  those  cour- 
trics  better  circumstances,  which  never  arrived.  Others 
had  opportunely  sent  a  few  slaves  before  themj  they 
carried  with  them  their  activity  and  experience,  and 
the  countries  of  their  adoption  were  enriched  by  the 
dispersion  of  these  planters,  and  the  ruin  of  the  richest 


OF  LOUISIANA. 


10<J 


agricultural  and  commercial  settlement  that  the  world 
has  ever  seen. 

Dessalines  had  caused  himself  to  be  named  gcncral- 
in-chief  of  the  army.  Many  white  inhabitants,  impru- 
dently confiding  in  his  solemn  promises,*  had  remained 
in  the  colony.  On  tlie  1st  of  January,  JUOl,  about  a 
month  after  the  evacuation  and  departure  of  the 
French,  he  made  a  declaration  of  independence.  He 
continued  to  hold  a  language  calculated  to  encourage 
the  white  proprietors.  But  soon  using  as  a  pretext  the 
information,  either  real  or  fictitious,  that  the  whites 
were  preparing  to  rise  up  against  him,  his  fears,  and 
still  more  his  natural  ferocity,  carried  him  to  horrible 
excesses.  He  repeated  that,  if  ever  the  French  should 
be  re-established  in  their  plantations,  they  would  be 
forced,  for  their  own  preservation,  to  strengthen  the 
irons  of  slavery;  that  there  was  no  middle  state  for 
the  blacks  between  liberty  and  the  most  horrible  ser- 
vitude, and  th''.c  the  safety  of  the  colony  depended  on 
the  entire  extermination  of  the  whites.  From  all  sides 
dreadful  words  were  re-echoed,  announcing  a  general 
mpssacre.  "  Let  us  avenge  ourselves  of  these  tigcn's 
who  thirst  after  our  blood.  The  Almighty  commands 
us  to  shed  theirs,  if  a  single  individual  among  us 
feels  the  least  pity,  let  him  fly,  he  is  unworthy  of 
breathing  the  pure  air  of  august  and  triumphant  li- 
berty." 

He  went  through  the  colony  from  north  to  south, 
marking  his  passage  by  the  massacre  of  all  the  whites 

'  Dessalines*  Pioclainatioji  ol  the  ioth  of  November.  IbO.r 


'0m* 


•"IS 


200 


THt  HISTORY 


that  could  be  discovered.  They  .vcre  collected  bv 
hundreds,  and  when  they  were  thus  cisscmbled  he  took 
pleasure  in  scoing  them  shot  or  cut  down  by  the 
sword.  These  executions  commenced  at  Cayes,  in 
February,  1804,  and  were  continued  from  town  to  town 
till  they  reached  the  Cape,  where  Dessalines  redoubled 
his  cruel  excesses.  The  massacre  lasted  there  from 
the  end  of  April  to  the  14th  of  May*  Neither  age  not 
sex  was  spared;  and  violations  of  the  person  often  pre- 
ceded the  murder.  The  whole  number  of  victims  was 
two  thousand  four  hundred  and  twenty. 

k  have  brought  together  in  a  few  words  the  princi- 
pal circumstances  of  the  disasters  of  .^^t.  Domingo, 
The  loss  and  ruin  of  this  magnificent  possession  have 
caused  to  the  commercial  affairs  of  France  injuric?. 
which  active  internal  industry  alone  can  repair.  But 
another  direction  must  be  given  to  trade,  and  this 
will  be  effected  by  a  transfer  of  business,  which  the 
new  condition  of  the  former  Spanish  possessions  in 
America  renders  easy.  Without  considering  these  re- 
verses irreparable,  except  with  reference  to  the  gene- 
ral plan  which  the  first  consul  had  formed,  it  is  suffi- 
cient to  say  that  Louisiana  had  been  destined  to  sup- 
ply the  other  colony  with  provisions,  cattle,  and  wood: 
and  as  St.  Domingo  was  lost  to  France,  the  impor- 
tance of  Louisiana  was  also  diminished :  but  these  dis- 
asters were  not  yet  known  to  Bonaparte.  He  expect- 
ed to  make  use  of  the  one  colony  to  preserve  the  other, 
and  he  was  particularly  fond  of  occupying  himself  with 
his  new  acquisition. 


OP  LOUISIANA. 


201 


It  was  agreeable  to  him  to  suppose  that,  notwith- 
standing their  long  separation,  the  Louisianians  had 
preserved  their  aftection  for  their  mother  country,  and 
that  they  would  be  happy  to  resume  their  French  cha- 
racter. Recollecting  the  regrets  manilested  at  the  time 
of  the  cession  to  Spain,  thirty-five  years  before,  he  per- 
suaded himself  that  the  re-establishment  of  the  French 
authority  would  be  a  matter  of  general  rejoicing.  He 
had  been  led  into  this  error  by  reading  letters  written 
from  New  Orleans  bv  some  of  the  St.  Domingo  colo- 
nists  who  had  escaped  there.  The  cession  revived  all 
their  hopes ;  for  the  two  colonies  being  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  one  another,  the  one  which  was  tranquil 
might  facilitate  the  subjection  of  the  blacks  in  the  other, 
afford  succour,  and  above  all  furnish  subsistence  to  the 
army  sent  to  conquer  it,  and  at  that  time  hopes  of  suc- 
cess were  not  abandoned. 

But  if  these  colonists,  stripped  of  their  wealth,  had 
an  interest  in  drawing  the  inhabitants  of  Louisiana 
into  their  cause,  tlie  Louisianians  had  contrary  inte- 
rests. They  had  reason  to  fear  for  themselves  the  ca- 
lamities which  had  been,  for  many  years,  ruining  the 
other  colonies  of  France.  St.  Domingo  was  the  most 
agitated  and  unfortunate  of  all.  The  colonists  repeat- 
ed with  horror,  at  New  Orleans,  these  words  which 
the  first  consul  had  caused  to  be  proclaimed,  in  his 
name,  in  the  revolted  colony,  and  which  were  there 
addressed  to  all  classes.  "  [nhabitants  of  St.  Domin- 
go, whatever  may  be  your  colour  or  your  origin,  you 
are  all  free,  all  equal  in  the  eyes  of  God  and  the  re- 


I 


#»!»• 


SiAJi' 


i 


^« 


t^>^h 


'%. 


202 


TMi:  HISTORY 


public."  General  Lcclcrc,  on  liis  arrival  in  the  colo- 
ny,  had  said;  "I  |)roniisc  liberty  to  all  the  inhabi- 
tants/' 

It  is  true  that,  a  lew  months  afterwards,  these  pro- 
mises had  been  retracted  by  a  law  oi"  an  entirely  con- 
trary  nature,  which  re-established  slavery,  and  autho- 
rized the  slave  trade  as  it  existed  before  1789. 

Nothing  is  more  calculated  to  destroy  confidenct 
than  these  changes  in  the  will  of  rulers,  and  the  hold- 
ing out  of  expectations  which  arc  given  or  withdrawn 
according  to  the  circumstances  and  interests  of  the 
moment.  The  intercourse  is  prompt  and  easy  between 
Cape  Frangais  and  New  Orleans,  and  few  weeks  passed 
without  information  being  received  in  the  latter  place 
of  some  new  disaster  that  had  occurred  iu  St.  l)o- 


mmgo. 


Tho  whites  themselves  till  the  land  in  some  parts  ol 
Louisiana,  but  the  great  plantations,  and  especially  liic 
sugar  estates  are  cultivated  by  black  slaves.  Even  the 
drivers  arc  chosen  from  among  this  class,  and  the 
slavery  of  the  blacks  is  deemed  a  necessary  condition 
of  the  riches  of  the  whites.  vSome  of  the  refugee  co- 
lonists had  brought  a  part  of  their  negroes  to  Louisia- 
na, and  were  therefore  secretly  far  from  desiring  ano- 
ther removal  or  participating  in  the  views  of  those  who 
had  lost  every  thing.  They  easily  made  the  Louisia- 
nians  acquainted  with  the  danger  that  they  would  in- 
cur, in  case  the  French  republic,  as  the  supreme  legis- 
lative power,  should  one  day  proclaim  manumission  aiul 
freedom  in  their  colonv. 


OF  LOUISIANA. 


2o;i 


Tiicy  i'oretolcl,  what  was  subspquently  verified  in  St. 
Domingo,  an  appropriation  of  the  land  in  large  and  small 
portions  to  all  the  blacks  who  had  borne  arms,  from  the 
generals  down  to  the  private  soldiers,  and  to  all  the  civil 
agents;  the  men  to  whom  liberty  was  new  avenging  them- 
selves with  fury  of  their  former  abject  state;  the  rights 
of  property  disregarded;  the  negro,  the  usurper  and 
master  of  the  soil  which  he  had  fertilized  by  the  sweat 
of  his  brow,  but  living  on  little,  placing  the  supreme 
good  in  repose,  and  having  no  regard  for  the  enjoy- 
ments of  luxury  or  the  profits  of  a  laborious  commerce. 
It  was  then  said,  that  "the  free  Africans  in  America 
would  do  still  less  labour  than  the  slave  in  Africa." 
From  all  these  disasters  the  Louisianians  expected  to 
be  preserved  if  the  sovereignty  of  the  catholic  king 
was  not  transferred  to  the  French  republic. 

We  must  add  to  these  just  causes  of  uneasiness,  the 
revolution  which  had  been  operating  on  the  mind  for 
thirty  years,  and  which  had  penetrated  even  to  the  least 
enlightened  classes.  It  was  no  longer  thought  that 
princes  had  the  right,  except  in  consequence  of  a  dis- 
astrous war,  to  dispose  of  their  provinces  according  to 
their  own  will,  to  mortgage  or  hypothecate  them,  to 
exchange  them  or  transfer  the  sovereignty  to  others 
without  the  consent  of  the  people;  and  maxims,  which 
had  been  long  received  as  part  of  the  public  law,  had 
thus  lost  their  authority. 

Scruples  of  this  kind  did  not  even  occur  to  the  first 
consul,  impatient  to  establish  the  French  government 
'n  Louisiana. 


WA:^ 


/l')jn! 


f 


'm 


W' 


*>r|(|. , 


201 


nil:  iiia'ioKY 


He  at  iii'ftt  selected  lor  the  cliiet'  comniand  in  th<; 
colony  11  distinguislicd  personage, — General  Bcrna- 
dotte,^ — of  whose  ambition  and  activity  he  entertained 
fears.  This  important  employment  would  have  re- 
moved him  from  Europe  in  an  honourable  manner,  and 
tlie  first  consul  expected  marksof  satisfaction  from  the 
general.  15crnadottc»  whose  character  for  firmness  and 
boldness  without  rashness  is  well  known,  thought  that 
he  ought,  before  accepting  this  mission,  to  prepare  the 
means  of  securing  his  success.  He  made  it  a  condi- 
tion of  his  departure,  that  he  should  carry  with  him,  be- 
sides three  thousand  soldiers,  an  equal  number  of  cul- 
tivators of  the  soil,  and  that  he  should,  moreover,  be 
provided  with  every  thing  that  was  necessary  in  a  re- 
mote place,  where  he  might  be  prevented,  loi  an  inde- 
finite period,  from  communicating  with  France.  Bo- 
naparte reriicd  to  these  proposals;  "1  would  not  do  as 
much  for  one  of  my  brothers:"  and  he  named  General 
Victor  governor,  and  appointed  at  the  same  time  the 
prefect  and  chief  judge. 

Always  uneasy,  however,  at  the  presence  of  Berna- 
dotte,  he  determined,  at  the  beginning  of  1803,  to  send 
him  to  the  United  States  in  the  character  of  minister 
plenipotentiary  of  France.  This  was  a  kind  of  exile, 
and,  to  diminish  ♦s  bitterness,  he  was  given  to  under- 
stand, that  it  was  in  contemplation  to  cede  to  those 
states  a  part  of  Louisiana,  and  that  he  would  be  em- 
ployed in  the  negotiation.     Personal  advantages  were 


Thft  prpsent  kins;  of  Sweden. — Tuansi,. 


OF  LOU  Ih  I  ANA. 


20.) 


iield  out  to  him  as  the  price  of  tiie  success  that  he 
might  obtain. 

Bcrnadotte  accepted  the  mission.  He  repaired  to 
Rochelle,  and  the  frigate  in  whicli  he  was  to  embark 
was  about  putting  to  sea,  when  he  learned  that  a  rup- 
ture between  France  njd  England  was  on  the  eve  of 
breaking  out.  He  immediately  returned  to  Paris  with- 
out waiting  fo-  leave,  and  firmly  declared  that  he  would 
not  engage  in  any  civil  employment  so  long  as  the  war 
lasted.  He  did  not  even  see  the  first  consul,  who  had 
evinced  a  great  deal  of  dissatisfaction  at  a  return, 
which  he  had  not  authorized.  Some  time  elapsed  bc- 
Ibre  common  friends  could  reconcile  them. 

General  Victor,  the  captain  general,  Laussat,  the 
prefect,  and  Ayme,  the  chief  judge,  had  been  appoint- 
ed. A  consular  decree  of  the  11th  of  September, 
1802,  had  regulated  their  fimctions.  Victor  was  pre- 
paring to  set  sail  from  Helvoetsluys  with  the  garrison 
intended  for  New  Orleans,  and  the  other  troops  that 
were  to  be  sent  to  the  colony.  He  had  so  little  idea 
of  a  change  of  destination,  that  he  was  purchasing  and 
putting  on  board  of  the  vessel  in  which  he  was  to  em- 
bark the  presents  that  he  intended  for  the  Indians. 
Hostilities  between  England  and  France  commenced 
about  this  time,  and  the  general's  departure  did  not 
take  place. 

M.  Laussat  had  received  his  instructions,  and  the 
order  for  his  departure  on  the  very  day  that  the  dissa- 
tisfaction that  was  manifested  in  the  English  parlia- 


i 


31t#»li»,=, 


I: 


U 


,yf. 


M, 


•200 


PFIK  IIISTOUY 


iiicnt  was  known  ut  Purin.  lie  set  sail  on  the  12tli  oi 
January,  1803. 

He  was  cordially  welcomed  at  New  Orleans  by  the 
Spanish  government,  and  immediately  announced  by 
a  proclamatioi',  the  expected  arrival  of  his  two  col- 
leagues; but  Ciciieral  Victor  was  alone  authorized  to 
receive  the  colon}  from  the  hands  of  the  Spanish  offi- 
cers. This  formality  necessarily  preceded  all  others, 
and  as  he  did  not  come,  the  colonial  prefect  was  with- 
out duties  or  authority.  He,  however,  published  several 
laws  of  the  republic  that  were  calculated  to  give  confi- 
dence to  the  colonists  and  particularly  the  one  of  the 
20th  of  May,  1802,  for  the  maintenance  of  slavery  and 
the  slave  trade,  as  they  existed  before  1789.  A  few 
public  ofHcers  who  accompanied  him,  were  likewise 
without  any  active  duties,  and  a  sum  of  one  hundred 
and  eleven  thousand  Spanish  dollars,  delivered  to  him 
on  his  departure,  remained  unemployed. 

The  events,  of  which  he  was  informed  on  landing, 
were  not  calculated  to  make  him  augur  great  success 
from  his  mission.  A  ship  that  arrived  from  Cape  Fran- 
cais,  almost  at  the  same  time  with  him,  brought  the 
news  of  the  reverses  and  disasters  of  every  kind  which 
had  succeeded  the  death  of  the  general-in-chief.  A  se- 
rious difference  had  also  just  arisen  between  the  United 
States  and  the  government  of  Louisiana,  the  particu- 
lars of  which  will  be  hereafter  mentioned. 

M.  Laussat  not  having  as  yet  any  character  that  au- 
thorized him  to  take  part  in  the  administration,  the 


OF  LOUISIAXA. 


207 


powers  of  tlic  jTOvcrnmciit  remained  in  the  hands  of 
Don  Manuel  dc  Salcedo,  and  of  the  Mar(|uis  of  Casa 
Calvo.  In  a  |)roL'aniation,  in  vvliich  they  took  the  title 
of  commissioners  of  the  kin^  for  tlie  cession  of  tlic 
province  to  the  French  republic,  they  announced  the 
change  of  sovereignty  and  gav»;  the  inhabitants  assu- 
rances respecting  the  preservation  of  their  riglits  and 
of  their  property  in  tlic  lands  that  had  been  granted 
to  them,  and  farther  promised,  that  the  titles  to  grants 
that  had  been  confirmed,  and  even  to  those  that  were 
not  confirmed,  should  be  respected. 

These  officers  of  the  former  government,  in  concert 
with  the  one  who  had  just  arrived,  applied  themselves 
in  gouu  faith  to  inspire  the  inhabitants  with  sentiments 
favourable  to  their  new  masters.  J5ut  those,  who  were 
in  any  condition  to  foresee  the  future,  did  not  think  that 
the  situation  of  the  population  would  be  meliorated  by 
the  cession,  or  that  France  could  derive  any  real  ad- 
vantages from  it.  Even  the  merchants,  eager  as  they 
always  are  to  welcome  flattering  expectations,  did  not 
promise  themselves  any  benefit  from  this  change. 

There  was,  therefore,  no  open  indication  of  those 
marks  of  satisfaction,  which  the  return  of  the  French 
would,  at  other  times,  have  produced.  An  eye-witness, 
speaking  of  the  sentiments  which  were  manifested  on 
occasion  of  the  arrival  and  reception  of  M.  Laussat, 
expressed  himself  in  these  terms: — 

*'  Every  one  will  be  astonished  to  learn,  that  a  people 
of  French  descent  have  received  without  emotion  and 


.WUJWh,i 


''^:u. 


UM 


-t«<i|S«l»»»( 


I  HI 


f 


■i-?* 


^r 


M 


h^\* 


m 


ff  It  \ 


'71 


m 


•iOB 


THE  HISTORY 


without  any  apparent  interest  a  French  magistrate,  who 
comes  to  us,  accompanied  by  his  young  and  beautiful 
family,  and  preceded  by  the  public  esteem.  Nothing 
has  been  able  to  diminish  the  alarms  which  his  mis. 
sion  causes.  His  proclamations  have  been  heard  by 
some  with  sadness,  and  by  the  greater  part  of  the  in- 
habitants with  the  same  indifference  as  the  beat  of  the 
drum  is  listened  to,  when  it  announces  the  escape  of  a 
slave  or  a  sale  at  auction."* 

How  much  gratitude,  on  the  other  hand,  would  have 
been  shown  to  the  first  consul,  if  instead  of  prohibit- 
ory laws,  his  envoy  had  proclaimed  freedom  of  trado, 
and  declared  that  France  renounced  for  ever  the  sys- 
tem which  has  been  pursued  for  the  settlement  of  co- 
lonies in  modern  times.  It  would  have  been  a  mea- 
sure of  enlightened  policy  to  have  solemnly  admitted 
that  their  prosperity  continually  advances  with  a  free 
system,  and  that  their  relations  with  the  parent  states 
become  useful  in  proportion  as  their  commerce  is  ex- 
tended without  restraint.  For  exclusive  privileges  and 
monopoly,  the  best  quality  of  merchandise,  and  the 
most  moderate  profits  should  have  been  substituted;  in 
a  word,  according  to  the  example  of  the  ancients,  the 
colony  ought  only  to  have  been  retained  by  the  tics 
which  favours  create,  by  the  recollection  of  a  common 
origin  and  the  affection  which  lasts  a  long  while,  when 
the  parent  state  and  her  offspring  have  the  same 
habits  and  language,  and  interests  that  arc  easily  re- 
conciled. 

*  Appendix,  No,  ;*. 


It  •'»„. 


OK  LOUISIANA. 


209 


If  sucli  a  plan  could  have  been  adopted,  instead  of 
the  practices  thr.t  have  prevailed  for  two  centuries,  it 
would  have  silenced  England,  calmed  the  disquiet  of 
tlie  western  states  of  the  American  Union,  and  France 
would  have  found  inestimable  advantages  in  the  re- 
turn to  the  ancient  principles  on  which  colonies  were 
founded. 

At  the  same  time  Louisiana  would  have  ethcaciously 
contributed  to  the  prosperity  of  the  insular  colonies; 
and  if  those  fine  settlements  could  have  been  pre- 
served, this  province,  united  to  the  Floridas,  would 
have  built  up  the  navy  of  France  and  revived  its  navi- 
gation. But  the  principles  of  free  trade  were  very  far 
from  being  followed  in  i  elation  to  Louisiana.  The 
Spanish  intendant  had,  a  short  time  before,  re-esta- 
blished there  the  prohibitory  system  in  all  its  rigour, 
and  his  conduct  had  caused  great  excitement  in  the 
very  bosom  of  congress. 

Twenty-five  years  had  scarcely  elapsed  since  the 
United  States  had  assumed  a  place  amoirg  nations, 
and  their  population  was  already  increasing  with  asto- 
nishing rapidity,  especially  in  the  territories  situated  to 
the  west  of  the  Alleghany  mountains.  The  federal  go- 
vernment had  not  interfered,  except, to  give  to  those 
new  communities  a  direction  conformable  to  the  spirit 
of  the  general  association,  and  in  a  little  time  the  super- 
intending care  of  a  wise  government  had  contributed 
more  to  all  kinds  of  improvement  than  the  European 
states  had  effected  in  the  colonies  subject  to  them 
(.luring  three  centuries.     The  best  lands  were  every 

27 


#«jit 


i^l' 


«"*-M»,ii, 


i<ii- 


'm 


mm 


"1  "■'■ " 


k 


.'  k 


w 


2  JO 


4IIR  HISTORY 


where  ofi'ercd  to  the  choice  of  scitlers,  and  the  indi 
genous  inhabitants  yielded  them  up  without  much  re- 
sistance. They  only  lived  by  the  chase,  and  as  tin: 
game  quitted  the  places  that  were  inhabited,  and 
stripped  of  their  forests  by  the  new  clearings,  they 
were  obliged,  with  the  deer,  to  fall  back  on  more  re- 
mote wildernesses. 

Whilst  in  Europe  the  occupation  of  a  single  village 
may  give  rise  to  a  war,  the  Americans  laid,  without. 
any  apprehensions,  in  tiieir  recently  explored  territories. 
the  foundation  of  ten  new  states,  any  one  of  which 
is  equal  in  extent  to  a  quarter  of  France.  Nothing 
arrests  these  peaceable  conquests.  If  the  natives 
require  an  acknowledgment  of  their  rights,  if  they 
even  make  a  serious  resistance,  a  few  bales  of  goods. 
some  presents  of  little  consequence,  or  a  moderate 
annuity  most  frequently  suffice  to  quiet  them.  Far 
from  there  being  any  difficulty  in  finding,  in  the  United 
States,  lands  suitable  to  the  enlargement  of  the  ter- 
ritory, its  .very  extent  already  alarms  the  inhabitiinls 
of  the  old  states,  who  are  interested  in  checking  the 
emigrations  which  take  place  to  the  new  ones.  Il 
is  in  fact  very  certain  that  the  increase  of  the  territo- 
ries of  the  confederacy  is  one  cause  of  the  weakness 
of  the  older  portions.  The  augmentation  of  their 
population,  however  great  it  may  be,  does  not  com- 
pensate for  the  continual  emigrations.  This  draining 
will  not  abate  till  the  banks  of  the  rivers  which  How 
from  the  west  of  the  mountains  to  the  Mississippi  arc 
occupied  and  cultivated.    It  is  there,  that  by  an  indc- 


% 


OF  LOUISIANA.  211 

tatigabic  activity,  the  face  of  the  soil  is  constantly 
changed.  Even  the  ciniirrants  who  have  commenced 
settlements  soon  find  themselves  straitened  for  room  in 
a  country,  which  was  a  few  years  before  a  wilderness. 
The  heads  of  families  prefer  to  all  other  enjoyments, 
that  of  givmg  to  every  child  fertile  lands  with  a  virgin 
soil.  Many  sell  J.e  farms  which  they  themselves  have 
cleared,  in  order  to  settle  at  a  greater  distance.  There 
is  a  continual  flowing  in  one  direction  without  any  re- 
turn. The  lands,  the  most  remote  Irom  the  country 
already  settled,  are  the  cheapest.  Some  of  excellent 
quality  are  to  be  had  for  less  than  two  dollars  an  acre; 
md  the  farther  the  colonists  advance  in  the  interior, 
the  more  can  they  enlarge  the  inheritance  of  their  pos- 
terity. But  a  condition  indispensable  to  the  success 
of  all  these  emigrations  was,  that  the  rich  and  abund- 
ant crops  of  the  west  should  have  access  through  the 
mouths  of  the  Mississippi  to  all  the  markets  of  the 
world.  The  Americans  had  already,  for  more  than 
twenty  years,  asserted,  as  an  incontestable  right,  the 
free  navigation  of  that  river  to  the  sea;  and  neither 
Spain,  nor  subsequently  France,  had  been  inclined  to 
this  concession,  so  contrary  to  the  exclusive  system. 
At  that  time  sufficiently  powerful  to  refuse  and  ellectu- 
ally  sustain  their  refusal,  they  did  not  suppose  that  the 
moment  could  ever  arrive  when  their  new  neighbours 
would  be  in  a  condition  to  give  them  the  law.  For  this, 
however,  every  thing  was  preparing,  without  the  go- 
vernors that  were  sent  from  Europe  paying  the  least  at- 
t'^r.tion  to  the  progress  of  the  Americans,  and  the  change 


m^. 


-m^'-iu 


■ip^'Utfi 


^:.«*-^''t;,| 


■""'^U 


tMm-^ 


m,    H 


O  lO 


21 


THK  IIISTOdV 


was  already  eflectecl  when  they  remarked  its  conse- 
quences. 

At  the  close  of  the  year  1802,  congress  was  in- 
formed of  the  cession  which  Spain  had  made  to 
France  of  Louisiana;  and,  almost  at  the  same  time, 
it  learned  that  this  last  power  was  preparing  to  take 
possession.  The  news  of  this  change  of  sovereignty 
excited  lively  alarms  in  all  the  western  settlements.  It 
was  feared,  and  congress  partook  of  the  apprehension, 
that  the  neighbourhood  of  the  French  would  not  be  so 
pacific  as  that  of  the  Spaniards. 

The  Spaniards,  nevertheless,  considered  themselves 
masters  of  the  province,  so  long  as  the  formalities  ol 
the  cession  to  France  were  not  fulfilled.  The  severe 
regulations,  which  in  the  other  Spanish  colonies  main- 
tained the  monopoly  of  the  mother  country  and  pro- 
tected its  exclusive  commerce,  had  not  been  observed 
in  Louisiana.  This  wise  relaxation  suddenly  ceased. 
Those  absurd  systems,  which  by  means  of  prohibitions 
more  or  less  rigorous,  keep  the  finances  and  commerce 
of  two  neighbouring  states  in  a  situation  resembling 
war,  and  which  sometimes  bring  about  real  hostilities. 
were  all  at  once  put  in  full  force  in  this  colony.  Don 
Juan  Ventura  Morales,  the  intendant,  said,  with  igno- 
rant confidence,  that  "  colonies  were  only  useful  under 
the  prohibitory  system,  and  that  if  produce,  received 
in  iramiiu,  was  not  subjected  to  import  and  export  du- 
ties, the  indulgence  would  have  all  the  bad  effects  of 
authorized  smuggling." 

A  treaty,  concluded  on  the  27th  of  October.  170rj. 


OF  LOUISIANA. 


21  :i 


with  Spain,  had  granted  to  tlic  United  States  "the 
right  to  deposite  their  merchandise  and  effects  at  New 
Orleans  for  the  space  of  three  years,  and  at  the  end  of 
that  time  tlic  privilege  was  either  to  be  continued  or 
an  equivalent  establishment  assigned  on  another  part 
of  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi." 

The  intendant,  after  the  expiration  of  this  term  of 
three  years,  had  not  interrupted  the  operation  of  the 
grant,  and  it  had  been  prolonged  by  a  kind  of  tacit 
agreemeat.  But,  in  1802,  he  suddenly  imagined  that 
an  indulgence  introduced  during  the  war  should  cease 
with  the  peace. 

M.  Morales,  contrary  to  the  opinion  even  of  the  Spa- 
nish governor,  who  looked  upon  every  suspension  of 
the  entrepot,  without  an  equivalent,  as  an  infraction  of 
the  treaty,  put  an  end  to  the  enjoyment  of  a  privilege 
which  he  was  afraid  to  see  perpetuated  by  a  sort  of 
proscription.  He  declared,  by  a  proclamation  of  the 
16th  of  October,  that  the  right  of  deposite  no  longer 
existed. 

This  measure  spread  great  consternation  among  the 
American  planters  in  the  western  territories.  Congress 
was  beset  from  all  quarters  with  complaints  and  state- 
ments of  grievances.  The  excitement  redoubled  as 
soon  as  the  petitioners  heard  the  news  of  the  cession 
to  France,  and,  according  to  the  generally  received 
opinion,  the  suspension  had  only  taken  place  in  conse- 
quence of  the  demand  of  that  power.*  Louisiana,  by  the 


m^ 


m 


m 


>^Z 


li\ 


*  Memoir  of  Mr.  Monroe,  page  7- 


•211 


fUE  HISTORY 


I' 


terms  of  the  treaty,  "  was  to  be  delivered  up  in  its  pre- 
sent state."*  This  present  state  was,  tliey  said,  the 
exclusion  of  the  Americans  from  the  port  of  New  Or- 
leans. They  drew  from  this  circumstance  the  infe- 
rence that  the  in^endant  had  not  acted  without  orders; 
that  the  return  to  the  prohibitory  system  had  been  con- 
certed between  the  two  powers,  and  that  it  was  in  or- 
der to  ensure  its  execution  that  France  was  sending 
an  army. 

A  census  of  the  new  states,  east  of  the  Mississippi, 
made  their  population  amount  to  nearly  800,000  souls. 
The  old  states  sent  there  by  land  the  merchandise  ne- 
cessary for  these  new  colonies.  The  numerous  fine 
rivers  which  flow  from  the  north-east,  empty  into  the 
Mississippi  to  the  west;  and  this  river,  with  the  gulf  of 
Mexico,  served  to  export  the  productions  of  the  new 
settlements,  and  especially  their  abundant  harvests  of 
every  description  of  grain.  The  trade,  which  was  car- 
ried on  from  the  continent  through  the  gulf,  was  the 
only  means  that  the  planters  of  the  new  western  states 
had  to  pay  for  what  they  received  from  the  other  states 
of  the  American  Union.  JNo  rivers  of  Europe  are  more 
frequented  than  the  Mississi])pi  and  its  tributaries.  To 
impose  obstacles  on  this  navigation  was  to  stifle  these 
new  communities,  and  to  condemn  vast  regions  to  the 
barrenness,  which,  after  so  many  centuries,  had  just 
been  replaced  by  an  admirable  fertility.  The  prohi- 
bition aflfected   this  prosperity,   and  the  agricultural 


*  The  .Occieu  of  the  king  of  Spain  of  the  30th  of  July,  IbO.?. 


OP  I-OlJISfANA. 


21a 


productions  suddenly  lost  half  their  value  as  well  at 
New  Orleans  as  at  Natchez,  the  place  from  whence 
they  were  forwarded.     Already  the  cry  of  alarm  was 
heard,  not  only  in  the  states  of  Ohio,  Tennessee,  and 
Kentucky,  and  in  the  territories  of  Indiana  and  Mis- 
sissippi, but  even  in  all  the  old  states,  whose  limits 
extend  beyond  the  western  mountains,  and  it  was  re- 
peated by  the  numerous  emigrants  who  flocked  from 
all  quarters  to  share  in  the  magnificent  inheritance  so 
long  neglected  by  the  savage  tribes.     The  new  set- 
tlers compared   the   feeble  and  unarmed   population 
of  Louisiana  with  their  own  numbers.     Proud  of  the 
superiority  of  their  strength,  they   found   in    it    the 
basis  of  an  incontestable   right.     They   longed    for 
a  rupture,  when   they  might  occupy  New  Orleans. 
"The  Mississippi  is  ours,"  they  said,  "by  the  law  of 
nature;  it  belongs  to  us  by  our  numbers,  and  by  the 
labour  which  we  have  bestowed  on  those  spots  which, 
before  our  arrival,  were  desert  and  barren.     Our  innu- 
merable rivers  swell  it,  and  flow  with  it  into  the  gulf 
sea.    Its  mouth  is  the  only  issue  which  nature  has 
given  to  our  waters,  and  we  wish  to  use  it  for  our  ves- 
sels.    No  power  in  the  world  shall  deprive  us  of  this 
right.     We  do  not  prevent  the  Spanish  and  French 
from  ascending  the  river  to  our  towns  and  villages. 
vVe  wish  in  our  turn  to  descend  it  without  any  inter- 
ruption to  its  mouth,  to  ascend  it  again  and  exercise 
our  privilege  of  trading  on  it  and  navigating  it  at  our 
pleasure.     If  our  most   entire   liberty   in   this   mat- 
ter is  disputed,  nothing  shall  prevent  our  taking  pos- 


^ 


^s';^:* 


21() 


THK  HISTORY 


session  of  the  capital ;  and  when  we  are  once  master" 
of  it,  \vc  sliall  know  how  to  maintain  ourselves  there. 
If"  congress  refuses  us  effectual  protection,  if  it  for- 
sakcs  us,  we  will  adopt  the  measuies  which  our  safety 
requires,  even  if  tiiey  endanfjer  the  pejjcc  of  the  Union 
and  our  connexion  with  tiic  other  states.  No  protec- 
tion, no  allegiance!" 

These  maxims  are  not,  in  all  respects,  those  of  the 
publicists;  but  such  proceedings,  and  the  roughness  of 
the  language  were  to  be  expected  from  men,  still  sur- 
rounded by  the  vestiges  of  a  primitive  state,  where 
every  individual  thinks  that  he  has  a  right  to  whatever 
he  considers  necessary  for  his  preservation  and  well- 
being. 

Tiie  country  of  the  Natchez  had  passed  under  the 
dominion  of  the  United  States.  Mr.  Daniel  Clarke,  a 
rich  proprietor,  and  a  man  of  activity  and  cleverness, 
who  liad  his  plantation  there,  had  neglected  no  means 
of  exciting  discontent.  At  the  first  news  of  the  retroces- 
sion to  the  French,  he  had  gone  in  haste  to  Paris,  and 
had  sought  by  different  means  to  produce  a  misunder- 
standing between  the  French  general,  for  whom  the 
command  was  intended,  and  the  colonial  prefect.  On 
his  return  to  Louisiana  he  found  the  disposition  of  the 
public  favourable  to  his  designs. 

In  the  uncertainty  which  then  existed  as  to  the  part 
that  would  be  adopted,  either  by  France  or  Spain,  re- 
specting the  right  of  deposite  at  New  Orleans,  the  Ame- 
ricans of  the  west  favourably  received  Mr.  Clarke's 
proposal  to  establishing  at  Natchez  the  entrepot  that 


OK  l-OI  ISIAN A. 


217 


liad  been  refused  tliein  by  the  Spaniards.  Tliis  port  is 
situated  on  the  eastern  bank  of  the  Mississi|)pi,  in  tlic 
territory  of  the  United  States,  forty  leagues  above  New 
Orleans,  and  the  climate  was  said  to  be  more  agreea- 
ble than  at  the  latter  place.  iMuch  stress  was  laid  on 
the  advantages  of  a  situation  that  was  more  protected 
from  the  insults  and  attacks  of  a  maritime  power.  15ut 
the  two  towns  being  equally  exposed  to  the  epidemical 
diseases,  with  which  these  countries  arc  afflicted  as 
soon  as  the  lands  begin  to  be  cleared,  the  project 
failed. 

There  was  much  excitement  likewise  in  congress,  of 
which  the  parties  endeavoured  to  take  advantage.  Mr. 
Jefferson  was  president,  and  in  order  to  maintain  the 
flourishing  condition  of  the  confederacy,  this  magis- 
trate made  every  exertion  to  prevent,  by  all  possible 
means,  the  disturbances  that  might  result  from  these 
occurrences.  They,  nevertheless,  appeared  to  him 
so  grave,  that  though  he  allayed  the  fears  of  the  go- 
vernments of  Kentucky,  and  the  other  western  states 
and  territories,  as  to  the  consequence  of  the  measures 
adopted  by  the  Spanish  intendant,  he  brought  the  sub- 
ject to  the  knowledge  of  the  house  of  representatives, 
by  a  message  of  the  2d  of  December,  1802,  in  which 
he  added,  "  that  he  was  aware  of  the  obligation  to 
maintain  in  all  cases  the  rights  of  the  nation,  and  to 
employ  for  that  purpose  those  just  and  honourable 
means  which  belong  to  the  character  of  the  United 
States." 


11^'''  !^ 

1      f   ' 

ll|B      ^1 ,, . 

^fHpHlik      if 

i^lvflUk^  'u 

i' 

1  Bi'Vif iHkiL 

Iff       ) 

»li 


1  '*Tj,j{l(  I   ■  "■ 


■'i  •■  I 


2.S 


' 


•2ij; 


liih;  MiM(m> 


To  tins  message  and  another  one  tliai  was  lians- 
initted  to  tliem  shortly  afterwards,  the  house  of  rcprc 
sentatives  replied,  that  "  relying,  with  perfect  conti. 
dcncc,  on  the  vigilance  and  wisdom  of  the  executive, 
they  will  wait  the  issue  of  such  measures  as  that  de- 
partment of  the  government  shall  have  pursued  for  as- 
serting the  rights  of  the  United  States — holding  it  to 
be  their  duty,  at  the  same  time,  to  express  their  unal- 
terable determination  to  maintain  the  boundaries  and 
the  rights  of  navigation  and  commerce  through  the 
river  Mississippi,  as  established  by  existing  treaties.*' 

It  was  at  first  not  known  whether  France  would  not 
attempt  to  asssign  new  frontiers  to  her  province  and  re 
vive  old  titles,  in  opposition  to  treaties  and  the  inte- 
rests of  the  United  States.  Every  thing  appears  sus- 
picious to  a  people,  when  they  have  once  conceived 
distrust.  They  recollected  the  expeditions  of  the 
French  governors  to  the  frontiers  of  Canada.  The 
armaments,  which  the  first  consul  was  preparing  at 
Flushing,  were,  they  said,  intended  to  usurp  the  terri- 
tories of  the  Union,  and  re-establish  the  ancient  lhnitr< 
of  Louisiana. 

The  proclamation  of  the  Spanish  intendant,  exe- 
cuted with  rigour,  only  served  to  make  more  apparent 
truths,  which  were  not  even  suspected  by  him,  namely, 
that  exclusive  privileges  are  useless  barriers  against 
local  and  natural  necessities,  and  that  no  opposition 
could  move  the  Americans  on  these  two  principal 
points — the  free  navigation  of  the  Mississippi,  and  th'' 


:m  1 


OF  LOIJSI.WA. 


)il\) 


against 


privilege  of  exporting  tlicir  productions  j.nd  importing 
their  nicrcliandisc  tiirongli  that  great  riv'cr. 

The  prohibition  soon  became  very  i  i)iirious  oven  to 
the  inhabitants  of  New  Orleans.  V'lour  and  other  sup- 
plies were  no  longer  brought  there.  The  fear  of  famine 
obliged  the  intendant  to  permit  their  importation  and 
exportation,  at  first,  indeed,  on  conditions  almost  as 
onerous  as  the  prohibition  itself,  though  he  was  after- 
wards obliged  to  connive  at  the  total  disregard  of  liis 

CD  CD 

own  regulations.* 

But  this  indulgence  might  be  precarious,  and  the 
Vincricans  wished  to  exercise  rights  that  were  free 
Irom  all  dispute.  In  vain  had  a  letter  been  published 
from  Mr.  Livingston,  the  minister  in  Paris,  containing 
assurances  that  the  treaties  with  the  United  States 
would  be  strictly  executed.  These  explanations  Jiad 
not  been  sufficient  to  tranquillize  the  public  mind,  and 
delays  were  no  longer  in  season. 

It  is  necessary  to  take  advantage  of  the  favourable 
months,  in  order  to  navigate  the  iVlississippi.  At  other 
periods  of  the  year,  stationary  or  fioating  masses  of 
ice  are  not  less  to  be  dreaded  tha.'i  the  rocks  or  sand 
banks  that  are  hid  under  the  water.  Trees  of  a 
prodigious  size,  which  the  river  carries  along  with  it 
when  the  thaw  is  accompanied  by  inundations,  often 
obstruct  its  channel.  It  is  again  made  navigable 
by  labour,  and  the  obstructions  cease  on  the  return 
of  spring.     The  month  of  May  Avas  approaching,  and 

*  Proclamati(tn  ul"  the  .Uh  of  Febriiarv.  18U  >. 


flfliStlBn 


' 


■J2U 


JIIK  HISTOKV 


ut  that  period  tin;  MiKsiHsii)pi  and  the  minor  rivers. 
svvoIIlmi  by  the  incltin<r  of  tlio  wnow,  arc  every  year 
covered  with  boats,  men,  and  agricultural  [)roduc- 
tions.  Rut  tlic  usual  course  of  trade  was  interrupt- 
ed,  and  the  inluibitants  considered  themselves  devoted 
to  certain  ruin,  unless  it  was  averted  by  vigorous 
arrangements.  The  excitement  was  so  great  that 
some  ofiieers  of  the  American  army  proposed  plans 
both  for  oftcnsive  and  defensive  operations.  They 
were  urged  on  by  a  party,  which  had  been  as  ardent 
for  war  as  its  opponents  were  zealous  for  the  mainte- 
nance of  peace.* 

The  treaty,  by  which  the  independence  of  the  thir- 
teen colonies  was  acknowledged  by  England,  had  been 
on  the  part  of  that  government  an  act  of  great  wis- 
dom. There  were,  however,  in  the  two  countries, 
some  persons  so  badly  informed  respecting  public  opi- 
nion, that  they  believed  it  ])ossible  to  bring  back  those 
provinces,  not  indeed  under  the  sceptre  of  the  king  ol 
England,  but  under  an  influence  which  would  procure 
for  the  mother  country  all  the  political  advantages  of  so- 
vereignty. Their  intrigues  had  encouraged  the  forming 
of  the  party,  denominated  federal,  whose  conduct  and 
proceedings  were  for  a  long  time  directed  by  the  prin- 
ciple of  attachment  to  England,  and  enmity  to  France. 

The  principal  leaders  had  influence  only  in  four  or 
five  states  of  the  north,  and  it  was  supposed  that  their 
secret  object  was  to  separate  them  from  the  Union 


'  Mr.  Monroe's  Memoir,  paj^c  7 


OF  LOinSIANA. 


221 


•  The  interests  of  the  northern  states  cannot,"  they 
said, "  be  reconciled  witli  those  of  tlie  southern  and 
western  states."  And,  in  liict,  thn  climate,  productions, 
navigation,  and  tlie  existence  of  slavery  had  introduced 
very  different  habits  in  the  various  sections  of  the 
United  States.  Hut  there  is  no  country  of  so  great  an 
extent  where  such  differences  are  not  found,  and  they 
do  not  prevent  all  the  parts  of  the  confederacy  from 
being  united  by  a  common  bond.  Many  federalists 
had  really  the  public  good  for  their  object,  and  the  pu- 
rity of  their  intentions  cannot  be  doubted,  when  wo 
know  that  Washington  had  given  them  his  support. 
But  it  was  also  suspected,  and  with  too  nmch  founda- 
tion, that  some  ambitious  men  had  been  introduced 
among  them,  who,  under  the  guise  of  zeal  for  liberty, 
only  aspired  to  power.  A  treaty  had  been  signed  at 
London  by  Mr.  Jay,  the  American  plenipotentiary, 
which  contained  clauses  favourable  to  England,  preju- 
dicial to  the  United  States,  and  was  not  ratified  with- 
out difficulty. 

The  governor  of  Canada  secretly  excited  the  fede- 
ralists, and  it  must  be  admitted  that  England  might 
have  effectually  profited  by  a  separation,  which,  by 
placing  five  states  under  her  protection,  would  have 
created  two  factions  in  the  bosom  of  her  rival,  and 
rendered  the  cabinet  of  London  the  arbiter  of  their 
difl'erences. 

The  party  known  under  the  name  of  republican, 
was  more  independent  of  all  European  intrigues,  and, 
tliough  it  was  not  devoted  either  to  England  or  France. 


'f  ;| 


222 


THE  HISTORV 


it  saw  less  danger  in  prcferrin<?  the  friendship  of"  this 
latter  power,  in  which  it  found  a  surer  guarantee  of  the 
commercial  and  maritime  independence  of  the  confe- 
deracy. 

The  practices  of  the  ambitious  could  not  be  long 
concealed,  and  they  lost  all  their  influence  as  soon  as 
their  true  designs  were  known.  It  was  even  in  the 
northern  states  that  they  experienced  the  strongest  op- 
position, and  at  the  moment  that  we  are  writing  a 
great  change  is  accomplished.  Animosities  and  feel> 
ings  of  hatred  have  been,  by  degrees,  dissipated.  Har- 
mony is  now  the  soul  of  this  great  confederacy.  From 
New  Hampshire  to  Louisiana  the  prevailing  principle 
is,  that  a  good  understanding  between  the  diirercni 
parts  of  the  Union  ought  to  be  maintained,  even  at  the 
price  of  some  sacrifices,  as  the  basis  of  the  public 
tranquillity,  and  of  the  prosperity  of  each  individual 
state. 

Party  names  are  almost  always  an  artifice  of  those 
who  wish  to  have  among  the  same  people,  in  the  same 
nation,  two  hostile  nations,  and  it  is  in  this  way  that 
enmities  are  perpetuated.  The  names  of  federalists 
and  republicans  are  now  no  longer  in  use.  The  title 
of  opposition  is,  however,  still  given  to  a  party,  whicli 
is  really  composed  of  observers,  who,  far  from  being 
opposed  to  the  government,  confine  themselves  to  cau- 
tioning it  against  falling  into  errors.  During  a  period 
of  forty  years  congress  has  made  a  great  and  honoui- 
iiblc  experiment:  it  has  constantly  observed  the  funda- 
mental laws,  to  which  it  owes  its  existence,  and  it  liai^ 


OF  LOUISIANA. 


223 


scarcely  ever  been  found  in  direct  opposition  to  the 
opinion  of  the  people.  What  had  long  been  only  a 
matter  of  hope  and  theory  has  become  a  truth  con- 
firmed by  fact;  namely,  that  the  confederacy  has  with- 
in itself  the  principle  of  its  own  strength  and  perma- 
nency, and  that  nations  are  the  only  sure  guarantees  of 
their  own  repose  and  happiness. 


•IjfiKti 


^•^ 


m 


r-si 


HI 


CESSION 


THE 


HISTORY   OF   LOIJISIAXA, 


PART  II. 


«*M 


CESSION  OF  LOUISIANA  DV  FRANCE  TO  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


29 


H] 


m 


CESSION 

Whils 

secretly  ^ 
by  the  U 
confeder 
derstand 
peared  t< 
posite  C( 
War  beti 
and  the  I 
it  should 
necessity 
On  the  1 
dressed  ( 
vince  of 
course  ol 
a  change 
circumsti 
United  S 
cur,  of  c 


THE 


HISTORY  OF  LOUISIANA. 


PART   THK   SECOND. 


CESSION  OP  LOUISIANA  BY   FRANCE  TO  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


Whilst  even  in  congress  a  very  active  faction  was 
secretly  endeavouring  to  induce  a  declaration  of  war 
by  the  United  States  against  France,  the  rulers  of  the 
confederacy  sincerely  desired  to  maintain  a  good  un- 
derstanding. On  its  side  the  consular  government  ap- 
peared to  wish  to  pursue  towards  this  republic  an  op- 
posite course  of  conduct  from  that  of  the  directory. 
War  between  France  and  England  seemed  inevitable, 
and  the  American  cabinet  easily  perceived  that,  in  case 
it  should  break  out,  the  first  consul  would  be  under  the 
necessity  of  putting  off  the  occupation  of  Louisiana. 
On  the  15th  of  December,  1802,  Mr.  Jefferson  thus  ad- 
dressed congress :  "  The  cession  of  the  Spanish  pro- 
vince of  Louisiana  to  France,  which  took  place  in  the 
course  of  the  late  war,  will,  if  carried  into  eflect,  make 
a  change  in  the  aspect  of  our  foreign  relations."  The 
circumstance  in  question  presented,  in  fact,  to  the 
United  States  a  chance,  which  might  never  again  oc- 
cur, of  commencing  negotiations  for  an  amicable  ces- 


WSMM 

iHpll 

¥  ': 

jBBBBB: 

■   i  ! 

iiU 

m 

I^A:.^ 


:% 


1 


22a 


iHK  iriiioK\ 


sion  of  territories  whicli  it  was  extremely  desirable 
that  they  should  possess.  "  Besides,"  said  the  Iricnds 
of  peace,  "  we  arc  not  prepared  for  war.  Ten  yeurs 
of  peace  are  necessary  to  make  us  respectable  and 
powerful,  we  shall  then  be  in  a  situation  to  face  every 
danger."  It  was  determined  that  an  envoy  extraordi- 
nary  should  be  sent  to  Europe  to  treat  with  the  first 
consul,  and  if  no  satisfactory  arrangement  was  to  be 
made  with  him,  to  enter  into  communications  with  the 
courts  of  London  and  Madrid.  The  choice  of  Mr. 
Jefferson  fell  on  Mr.  Monroe,  ex-governor  of  Virginia. 
a  man  zealous  for  the  interests  of  his  countrv,  who  en- 
joyed  great  popularity  in  the  western  states,  was  very 
influential  in  the  republican  party,  and  was  already  ad- 
vantageously known  in  France,  where  he  had  resided. 
as  envoy,  in  the  time  of  the  directory.  In  178G,  Mr, 
Monroe,  then  a  member  of  congress,  had  written  a 
memoir  to  prove  the  right  of  the  western  country  to 
the  navigation  of  the  Mississippi.  The  president  con- 
fided to  his  friend  the  most  important  transaction  of 
his  administration,  and  he  regarded  him  as  the  nego- 
tiator best  calculated  by  his  experience  to  ensure  its 
success. 

Mr.  Livingston,  the  minister  of  the  United  States  at 
Paris,  had  warmly  pursued  this  affair  for  many  months. 
He  had  sent  to  the  minister  of  foreign  affairs  a  note  in 
which  his  arguments  were  supported  by  intimations  that 
were  almost  menacing.  He  did  not  confine  himself  to 
demanding  the  cession  of  New  Orleans;  he  also  pro- 
posed that  France  should  cede  the  vast  territories  that 


\    llsHl 


Ol'   LUlIftlANA. 


229 


S"---   .,•    ■  V 


are  to  the  north  of  the  river  of  tlie  Arkansas  and  on  tlic 
right  bank  of  the  Mississippi.*  But  his  overtures  re- 
mained unnoticed,  the  suspicions  that  lie  had  long  en- 
tertained, that  new  Orleans  could  only  be  obtained  by 
force  of  arms,  became  with  him  in  some  sort  matters 
of  certainty,  and  his  ofiicial  and  private  correspond- 
ence urged  the  adoption  of  extreme  measures.  We 
have  seen  that  Mr.  Jefferson  did  not  participate  in 
these  hostile  dispositions.!" 

»  Appendix,  No.  8. 

tThe  course  of  President  Jefierson  at  this  crisis  was  very  de- 
cided. Notwithstanding  tlie  cliarge  of  j)artiality  to  France,  usual- 
ly imputed  to  him,  it  will  be  seen  by  the  instructions  from  the 
secretary  of  state  to  Messrs.  Livingston  and  Monroe,  dated  April 
18,  1803,  and  published  in  182G,  tliat  war  with  the  first  consul 
was  regarded  by  the  administration  at  Washington  as  probable. 
In  case  the  free  navigation  of  the  Mississippi  or  the  right  of  de- 
posite  at  New  Orleans  was  denied  to  the  United  States,  the  Ame- 
rican ministers  were  directed  to  consult  with  England,  w  ith  the 
view  of  making  common  cause  with  her  against  France.  See  Ap- 
pendix, No.  18. 

Mr.  Jefferson  also  wrote  to  Mr.  liivingston,  as  follows: — 
"The  day  that  France  takes  possession  of  New  Orleans,  fixes  tlie 
sentence  which  is  to  restrain  her  for  ever  within  her  low  water 
mark.  It  seals  the  union  of  two  nations,  who,  in  conjunction, 
can  maintain  exclusive  possession  of  the  Ocean.  From  that  mo- 
ment we  must  marry  ourselves  to  the  British  fleet  and  nation. 
We  must  turn  all  our  attention  to  a  niaritinte  foice,  for  which  our 
resources  place  us  on  very  high  ground,  and,  having  formed  and 
connected  together  a  power  which  may  render  re-enforcement  of 
l>er  settlements  here  impossible  to  France,  make  the  first  cannon 
«iiich  shall  be  fired  in  Kurope  the  signal  for  tearing  up  any  settle- 
ment she  may  have  made,  and  for  holding  the  two  continents  of 
America  in  sequestration  for  the  common  purposes  of  the  united 
British  and  American  nations.  This  is  not  a  state  of  things  we 
jeek  or  desire.  It  is  one  which  this  measure,  if  adopted  by  France, 
torces  on  us  as  necessarily,  as  any  other  cause,  by  the  laws  of  na- 
ture, brings  on  its  netessarv  elVeit." — Trwsi.. 


•15 


ij-A-jfj-j 


u  '■ 


f>ij 


-'"TM 


M 


*»Vi 


m 


230 


THF  HISTORV 


The  confidential  letters,  by  wliich  he  inlbrincd  Mi. 
Monroe  of  his  nomination,  form  a  proper  prekidc  to 
the  negotiation,  and  arc  calculated  to  make  us  ac- 
quainted with  the  views  and  foresight  of  this  states- 
man.   They  deserve  to  be  preserved. 

<'  JVashiiigton,  Jan,  10,  IS03. 
•'  GovKRNOR  Monroe  : — 

"  Dear  Sir — I  have  but  a  moment  to  inform  you. 
that  the  fever  into  which  the  western  mind  is  thrown 
by  the  affair  at  New  Orleans,  stimulated  by  the  mer- 
cantile and  generally  the  federal  interest,  threatens  to 
overbear  our  peace.  In  this  sitr.ation,  we  arc  obliged 
to  call  on  you  for  a  temporary  sacrifice  of  yourself,  to 
prevent  this  greatest  of  evils  in  the  present  prosperous 
tide  of  our  affairs.  I  shall  to-morrow  nominate  you  to 
the  senate,  for  an  extraordinary  mission  to  France,  and 
the  circumstances  arc  such  as  to  render  it  impossible 
to  decline:  because  the  whole  public  hope  will  be  rest- 
ed on  you.  I  wish  you  to  be  cither  in  Richmond  or 
Albemarle  till  you  receive  another  letter  from  inc. 
which  will  be  within  two  davs  hence,  if  the  senate  dc- 
cide  immediately:  or  later,  according  to  the  time  they 
take  to  decide.  In  the  meantime,  pray  work  night  and 
day,  to  arrange  your  affairs  for  a  temporary  absence— 
perhaps  for  a  long  one.  Accept  affectionate  saluta- 
tions. 

I^IOMAS  JhFFF.RSON." 

The  senate  sanctioned  the  nomination:  and  on  the 
13th  of  January  the  president  wrote  to  his  friend  the 
following  letter: — 


(JF  LOUISIANA. 


'2A  I 


'<  fVashington,Jan.  13,  1803. 
•  Dear  Sin — 

"  I  dropped  you  a  line  on  the  10th,  infoiming  you 
of  a  nomination  I  had  made  of  you  to  the  senate,  and 
vesterday  I  enclosed  you  their  approbation,  not  having 
then  time  to  write.  The  agitation  of  the  public  mind 
on  occasion  of  the  late  suspension  of  our  right  of  de- 
posite  at  New  Orleans  is  extreme.  This  in  the  west- 
ern country  is  natural,  and  grounded  on  operative  mo- 
tives. Remonstrances,  memorials,  kc.  arc  now  circu- 
lating through  the  whole  of  that  country,  and  signing 
by  the  body  of  the  people.  The  measures  which  wo 
have  been  pursuing,  being  invisible,  do  not  satisfy  their 
minds;  something  sensible,  therefore,  has  becoiie  ne- 
cessary, and  indeed  our  object  of  purchasing  New  Or- 
leans and  the  Floridas,  is  a  measure  likely  to  assume 
so  many  shapes,  that  no  instructions  could  be  squared 
to  fit  them.  It  was  essential,  then,  to  send  a  minister 
extraordinary  to  be  joined  with  the  ordinary  one,  with 
discretionary  power,  first  however,  well  impressed  with 
all  our  views,  and  therefore  qualified  to  meet  and  mo- 
dify to  these  every  form  of  proposition  which  could 
come  from  the  other  party.  This  could  be  done  only 
in  frequent  and  full  oral  communication.  Having  de- 
termined on  this  there  could  not  be  two  opinions  as 
to  the  person.  You  possessed  the  unlimited  confidence 
of  the  administration  and  of  the  western  people,  and 
were  you  to  refuse  to  go,  no  other  man  can  be  found 
who  does  this.  All  eyes  are  now  fixed  on  you;  and 
were  you  to  decline,  the  chagrin  would  be  great,  and 


*r.K,«i»nj 


■■■■^^11^ 


U 


THK  lIIsTOin 


would  shake  under  your  feet  the  high  ground  on  winch 
you  stand  with  the  pubhc.  Indeed  I  know  nothiiii: 
wliich  would  produce  such  a  shock:  for  on  the  event 
of  this  mission  depends  the  future  destinies  of  tliis  re- 
public. If  we  cannot,  by  a  purchase  of  the  country, 
ensure  to  r-rselves  a  course  of  perpetual  peace  and 
friendship  with  all  nations,  then,  as  war  cannot  be  far 
distant,  it  behooves  us  immediately  to  be  preparing  for 
tliat  course,  without,  however,  hastening  it;  and  it  may 
be  necessary,  (on  your  failure  on  the  continent,)  to 
cross  the  channel.  We  shall  get  entangled  in  Euro- 
pean politics,  and  figuring  more,  be  much  less  happy 
and  prosperous.  This  can  only  be  prevented  by  a  suc- 
cessful issue  to  your  present  mission.  I  am  sensible. 
after  the  measures  you  have  taken  for  getting  into  a 
dilferent  line  of  business,  that  it  will  be  a  great  sacri- 
fice on  your  part,  and  presents,  from  the  season  and 
other  circumstances,  serious  difiiculties.  But  some 
men  are  born  for  the  public.  Nature,  by  fitting  them 
for  the  service  of  the  human  race  on  a  broad  scale. 
has  stamped  them  with  the  evidences  of  her  destina- 
tion and  their  duty." 


It  is  apparent  that  New  Orleans  and  the  Florida^ 
were  still  the  only  objects  of  consideration.  However, 
it  was  natural  to  ask  of  the  French  republic,  the  new 
sovereign  of  the  country,  at  the  moment  that  the  pos- 
session of  Louisiana  was  passing  from  Spain  to  France, 
redress  for  a  grievance  of  which  the  intendant,  Mora- 
les, seemed  the  onlv  author,  but  of  which  nothinii  a"- 


OF  LOUISIANA. 


233 


nounced  the  definitive  termination.    Mr.  Monroe  was, 
therefore,  instructed  to  state  that  a  solemn  treaty  with 
Spain  had  not  prevented  a  simple  depositary  of  the 
royal  authority  from  ordering,  at  his  own  suijgcstion, 
a  suspension  of  commerce  that  was  necessarily  preju- 
dicial to  both  parties;  that  it  was  dangerous  and  con- 
trary to  all  rules  of  prudence  that  colonial  officers,  at 
a  distance  of  two  thousand  leagues  from  their  sove- 
reign, should  have  the  power  to  jeopard,  by  arbitrary 
and  capricious  measures,  the  peace  and  good  under- 
standing which  their  governments  were  desirous  of 
maintaining;  that  the  surest  way  of  preventing  every 
source  of  dispute  would  be  the  cession  of  the  city  of 
New  Orleans,  situated  on  the  eastern  bank  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi, and  that  this  measure  would  tend  to  benefit 
Western  Louisiana,  now  the  property  of  France,  as 
well  as  more  effectually  secure  its  possession  to  that 
power.    The  directory  no  longer  existed,  but  it  had 
made  the  disorders  of  the  French  finances  too  well 
known  for  a  foreign  state  to  expect  to  treat  in  any 
other  way  than  with  ready  money.    Mr.  Monroe  was 
authorized  to  offer  the  price  of  this  cession,  which  had 
been  fixed  by  the  American  Gfovcrnment  at  two  millions 
of  dollars. 

Until  then  the  Americans  had  only  asked  that  the 
course  of  the  Mississippi  should  be  divided  by  a  line 
that  would  put  New  Orleans  within  the  territory  of  the 
United  States,  which  they  declared  to  be  the  sole  means 
of  securing  to  them  the  free  navigation  of  the  river. 
Projects  for  the  cession  of  the  entire  colony  were  at 

30 


m:-'' 


m% 


m 


231 


IIIK   iil^lOlO 


that  time  neither  popular  nor  tlic  subjoctsof  much  dis- 
cussion. It  was,  indeed,  natural  to  fear  that  if  the  so- 
vereignty of  tlie  United  States  slionid  he  extended  on 
the  right  bank  of  the  iMississippi,  the  unity  of  inte- 
rests, so  necessary  to  the  strengtli  of  a  community, 
would  not  only  be  relaxed,  but  that  it  might  be  entire- 
ly destroyed  by  the  continual  emigrations  from  east  to 
west.  If  the  future  consequences  of  the  increase  ot 
this  new  population  were  regarded,  it  could  not  bo 
hoped,  without  contradicting  history  and  experience. 
to  embrace  within  the  federal  union  regions  so  remote. 
nor  expected  that  congress,  whatever  might  be  its 
place  of  meeting,  could  long  govern  the  countries  on 
the  right  bank  of  the  ississippi.  It  was,  on  the  con- 
trary, indisputable  t  Jiese  acquisitions  becoming 
powerful,  in  their  turn,  would  detach  themselves  from 
the  old  states  whenever  their  interest  should  require  it. 

These  observations  had  reference  to  a  remote  futu- 
rity. But  a  present  object,  which  affected  a  great 
number  of  the  merchants  and  ship  owners  of  the 
United  States,  was  to  form  part  of  the  negotiation  in- 
trusted to  Mr.  Monroe.  We  refer  to  the  injuries  as- 
cribed to  the  directory,  the  government  that  had  im- 
mediately preceded  that  of  the  first  consul,  the  repa- 
ration of  which  the  envoy  was  i.istructed  to  demand. 

It  is  necessary  to  go  back  a  few  years  in  order  to 
understand  the  object  of  this  important  part  of  the  ne- 
gotiation. The  interests  of  commerce,  colonial  set- 
tlements, and  navigation  have  effected  great  changes 
in  the  reciprocal  relations  of  the  nations  of  Europe 


OF  LOIIilA.N  A. 


The  independence  of  tl»c  United  Slates  has  rendered 
tlicm  still  more  complicated.  I5ut  such  clianges  are  not 
often  remarked  by  statesmen  themselves,  till  they  have 
committed  great  faults  by  persevering  in  old  errors. 

The  directory,  led  astray  by  I'alsc  notions  of  the  si- 
tuation of  the  French  colonies,  had  not  remarked  that 
their  existence  depended  upon  the  preservation  of  a 
good  understanding  with  the  United  States.  Instead 
of  ro-establishing  friendly  relations  with  the  American 
Union,  it  had,  after  more  than  once  putting  it  in  jeo- 
pardy, finally  broken  the  alliance  which  had  been  the 
precious  fruit  of  the  policy  of  the  councils  of  Louis 
XVI.  Mutual  <'iHcontent  had  not  yet  resulted  in  direct 
hostilities;  but  even  in  peace  captures  were  made  by 
privateers  bearing  the  French  flag,  which  became  the 
subject  of  great  complaints  on  the  part  of  the  United 
States.  It  was  likewise,  at  this  period,  that  the  first 
disasters  of  the  French  colonies  led  to  the  emigration 
of  many  families,  who  from  great  opulence  had  fallen 
into  deep  distress.  Numbers  of  them  took  refuge  in 
the  United  States.  Never  was  hospitality  more  nobly 
exercised  than  under  these  circumstances;  never  were 
more  sincere  and  effectual  consolations  offered  to  mis- 
fortunes by  a  grateful  people.  This  generosity  towards 
refugees,  the  objects  of  the  persecutions  of  the  direc- 
tory, was  not  regarded  by  its  members  as  a  motive  for 
reconciliation  with  the  American  republic.  They  had  in- 
herited the  animosities  of  the  convention,  and  the  West 
Indian  possessions  were  the  victims  of  them.  These 
colonies,  prosperous  in  time  of  peace,  are  exposed  to 


t?« 


11^ 


■■re  I 


236 


THK  HlbTOliy 


all  sorts  of  calamities  as  soon  as  war  breaks  out. 
Their  intercourse  is  interrupted;  a  parent  state,  weak 
at  sea,  can  neither  supply  them  with  provisions  nor  ex- 
port their  produce,  and  is  most  frequently  incapable  of 
defending  them.     If  they  resort  to  neutrals,  this  relax- 
ation of  the  prohibitory  system  habituates  the  colony 
to  privileges,  which  make  them  look  on  the  return  of 
peace  with  indifference.    The  directory,  in  order  to 
maintain  their  prohibitory  laws,  had  permitted  the  lo- 
cal a  ithorities  to  provide  for  the  preservation  of  the 
colonies  by  arming  privateers,  and  these  agents  en- 
couraged them  to  fall  indiscriminately  on  all  flags. 
They  carried  their  disregard  of  the  rules  of  justice 
and  the  laws  of  nations  so  far  as  to  condemn,  as  law- 
ful prizes,  ships  that  had  entered  the  ports  with  sub- 
sistence and  provisions  intended  for  the  inhabitants  of 
the  islands  that  they  governed.    Victor  Hugues,  one 
of  these  colonial  rulers,  openly  professed  and  put  in 
practice  the  maxim,  that — ''  In  time  of  want  all  kinds 
of  provisions  are  good  prize."     The  American  go- 
vernment, before  commencing  hostilities  with  France, 
wished  to  exhaust  all  pacific  measures.    It  had  sent 
three  ministers  to  the  directory  towards  the  end  of 
1797.*    On  their  arrival  at  Paris  they  were  circum- 
vented by  all  sorts  of  intrigues.   Their  correspondence 
is  a  monument  of  the  base  manner  in  which  the  French 
government  at  that  time  managed  their  political  affairs. 
"  The  most  disgraceful  cupidity,"  they  wrote  to  their 

*  Messrs.  C.  C.  Pincknev,  MarshHll,  and  (tpitv. — 'I'kansi.. 


bP  LOUISIANA. 


23/ 


constituents,  '•  was  openly  manifested  at  Paris."  The 
American  commissioners  were  told  that  "their  govern- 
ment paid  money  to  obtain  peace  witli  the  Algerines 
and  with  the  Indians;  and  that  it  was  doing  no  more 
to  pay  France  for  peace.'' 

This  negotiation  lasted  for  six  or  seven  months:  it 
was  broken  off  when  it  was  found  impossible  to  con- 
tinue it  on  such  erroneous  principles. 

Congress,  without  declaring  war,  had  announced 
through  the  president,  (John  Adams.)  on  the  28th  of 
V'ay,  1798,  that,  "whereas  armed  vessels,  sailing  un- 
der authority  or  pretence  of  authority  from  the  repub- 
lic of  France,  have  committed  depredations  on  the 
commerce  of  the  United  States  in  violation  of  the  law 
of  nations  and  treaties;  it  should  be  lawful  for  Ameri- 
can armed  vessels  to  retake  any  ship  so  captured,  as 
well  as  to  seize  and  bring  into  port  such  armed  ves- 
sels as  had  committed  depredations  on  vessels  belong- 
ing to  citizens  of  the  LTnited  States." 

Ihe  animosity  was  still  increasing  in  1799;  when 
congress,  renouncing  vain  attempts  at  moderition,  re- 
solved that  all  intercourse  with  France  should  be  sus- 
pended; fhat  the  treaties  had  ceased  to  be  obligatory; 
and  that  the  capture  of  French  vessels  was  permitted. 

From  the  beginning  of  the  consular  government  a 
wise  policy  had  put  a  stop  to  all  reprisals:  a  convention 
liad  been  signed  on  the  30th  of  September,  1800;*  but 
ficcording  to  a  stipulation,  without  which  the  reconci- 


II 


^ 


•■-'T»  i 


'  The  Aineiicaii  plenipuloiUiaiie^j  v.oic  Messrs.  EllswoiUi,  l)u 
^'ip.  and  Mturav. — Thansi.. 


238 


THE  HISTORV 


I  )-i  ;■, 


liation  would  have  been  impossible,  indemnities  were 
to  be  paid  for  all  prizes  unlawfully  made.  Ministers 
had  been  subsequently  interchanged,  and  the  envoy  ot 
the  United  States  had  calculated  on  prompt  satisfaction. 
The  communications  which  he  addressed  to  his  go- 
vernment authorized  this  hope;  but  the  expectations 
were  not  realized,  and  in  fact  the  finances  of  France 
had  scarcely  begun  to  emerge  from  the  chaos  in  which 
the  bad  government  of  the  directory  had  plunged  them. 
This  part  of  the  convention  of  1800  therefore  re- 
mained unexecuted;  and  this  contempt  of  the  most  or- 
dinary rules  of  justice  carried  the  general  irritation 
in  the  United  States  to  its  greatest  height.  The  pre- 
sident and  his  cabinet,  compromitted  by  their  modera- 
tion, were  beginning  to  make  their  reproaches  heard. 
and  talked  of  doing  themselves  the  justice  that  was 
refused  them.  The  American  minister  at  Paris  had 
received  orders  to  make  this  discontent  known,  and 
his  notes  were  drawn  up  with  a  firmness  to  which  Bo- 
naparte was  not  accustomed.  If  one  of  the  continen- 
tal powers  of  Europe  had  dared  to  employ  similar  lan- 
guage, the  invasion  of  its  territory  would  have  been 
the  consequence.  Congress,  separated  by  the  Atlan- 
tic Ocean,  could  without  danger  assume  a  menacing 
attitude;  and  the  first  consul  was  cautious  how  he  ex- 
hibited a  resentment,  which  would  have  only  manifest- 
ed his  own  weakness.  But  as  the  notes  of  Mr.  Living- 
ston, the  American  minister,  remained  unanswered,  tlie 
injured  merchants  and  ship  owners  lost  their  patience. 
and  murmured  against  their  government.    The  cue- 


OF  LOUISIANA. 


2:39 


inies  of"  France  in  the  United  States,  attentive  to  this 
general  discontent,  hoped  to  avail  themselves  of  it,  in 
order  to  force  the  Union  into  an  alliance  with  England. 
These  matters  were  discussing  with  warmth,  when 
news  from  the  west  greatly  increased  the  public  excite- 
ment.* Not  only  liad  the  Spanish  intendant  put  his 
proclamation  in  force,  but  new  orders  forbade  all  com- 
munication between  the  Louisianians  and  Americans. 
Ill  the  number  of  ihe  colonies,  formed  in  the  western 
part  of  the  United  States,  was  one,  not  yet  admitted 
into  the  Union,  situated  on  the  left  bank  of  that  river, 
and  denominated,  not  without  reason,  the  territory  of 
Mississippi.  It  was  the  nearest  to  New  Orleans,  and 
openly  expressed  more  animated  complaints  when  it 
deemed  moderation  useless.  "  We  saw,''  said  these 
planters,  in  a  memorial  to  congress  of  the  5th  of  Ja- 
nuary, 1803,  "  our  trade  flourishing,  our  property  rising 
rapidly  in  value,  and  we  felicitated  ourselves  in  being 
the  free  and  happy  citizens  of  an  independent  repub- 
lic. Reposing  in  national  faith  for  a  continued  obser- 
vance of  stipulated  privileges,  we  had  indulged  the  san- 
guine expectation  that  this  state  of  prosperity  would 
not  have  been  so  soon  interrupted.  A  recent  order 
by  the  government  of  Louisiana  has  considerably  in- 
creased the  embarrassment  upon  our  trade,  and 
breathes  a  spirit  of  still  greater  enmity  to  the  United 
States.  Conscious  of  the  wisdom,  justice,  and  energy 
of  the  general  government,  we  tender  to  our  country 
our  lives  and  fortunes  in  support  of  such  measures  as 

*  Appcmlix.  No.  9,  !'>. 


jni-i 


1^^: 


*1»fl 


1: 


■     ^^■.  r*-.! 


■Mi 


«'1 


240 


THE  HISTORY 


congress  may  deem  necessary  to  vindicate  the  lionour 
and  protect  the  interest  of  the  United  States." 

This  petition  led  to  a  proposal  which  the  federal 
party  had  secretly  prepared.  About  the  middle  of  Fe- 
bruary, 1803,  Mr.  Ross,  a  senator  from  Pennsylvania. 
offered  a  resolution,  in  a  public  sitting  of  the  house  to 
which  he  belonged,  to  take  possession  of  New  Orlean- 
by  force.  '•  Let  us  not  await,"  said  he,  "  the  arrival  of 
the  French,  but  since  a  solemn  treaty  is  violated,  let 
us  not  hesitate  to  occupy  places  that  ought  to  belong 
to  us.  The  people  of  the  west  are  quite  ready,  and 
there  would  be  excessive  simplicity  in  supposing  that 
the  city  will  be  yielded  to  us  spontaneously,  or  even  by 
virtue  of  a  treaty  with  the  first  consul." 

On  his  pronouncing  these  words,  another  senator. 
seeing  the  danger  of  a  public  discussion,  required  that 
the  galleries  and  tribunes  should  be  cleared  and  the 
doors  closed.  The  proposition  was  opposed  by  thost 
who,  with  Mr.  Ross,  v/ished  to  inflame  the  public  mind, 
But  as  the  rule  of  the  senate  provided  that  the  demand 
of  a  single  member  should  be  sufhcient  to  e.xcludi 
strangers,  the  sittuig  became  secret.  Mr.  Ross  con- 
tinued thus:  "  We  must  no  longer  await  the  uncertain 
results  of  diplomatic  correspondence,  Louisiana  oiiglii 
to  belong  to  the  United  States,  the  people  of  the  west 
are  impatient  to  do  themselves  justice;  and  if  the 
French  arc  allowed  time  to  arrive,  the  Americans,  in 
those  parts  of  the  Union,  will  refuse  to  pay  taxes  to  a 
government  too  feeble  to  protect  them.  Never  will 
there  be  so  favourable  an  occasion  to  annex  to  the  fe- 


deral unic 
could  not 
')n  the  ev< 
01  their  p 
ol  the  Un 
to  obtain 
high  pric€ 
of  the  ne) 
is  time  to 
ca  is  in  < 
part  of  til 
we  fear  n( 
and  that  \ 
are  prepai 
eluded  hig 
of  dollars 
raise  fifty 
ana  by  for 

The  ho 
the  quest  i 
cret.  Wl 
nounced  t 
house  to 
rent  states 
put  it  on  t 

The  sei 
sessions,  \ 
Ross'  mot 

Gouveri 
of  the  Un 


OF  LOUISIANA. 


241 


deral  union  a  country  without  which  half  of  our  states 
could  not  exist ;  it  is  easy  to  seize  on  it,  as  France  is 
on  the  eve  of  going  to  war  with  England;  the  Enghsh 
01  their  part  will  neglect  nothing  to  gain  the  friendship 
oi  the  United  States;  the  advances  which  they  make 
to  obtain  our  alliance  prove  that  they  value  it  at  a 
high  price,  and  consider  it  indispensable  to  the  success 
of  the  new  measures  that  they  are  forced  to  adopt.  It 
is  time  to  teach  the  world  that  the  balance  of  Ameri- 
ca is  in  our  hands,  that  we  are  as  dominant  in  this 
part  of  the  globe  as  other  nations  are  in  Europe,  that 
we  fear  none  of  them,  that  our  period  of  youth  is  over, 
and  that  we  are  entering  on  the  age  of  manhood  and 
are  prepared  to  make  use  of  our  strength."  He  con- 
cluded his  remarks  by  proposing  to  place  five  millions 
of  dollars  at  the  disposition  of  the  president,  and  to 
raise  fifty  thousand  men  to  take  possession  of  Louisi- 
ana by  force. 

The  house  of  representatives,  on  its  part,  took  up 
the  question,  and  its  deliberations  were  likewise  se- 
cret. When  the  doors  were  again  opened,  it  was  an- 
nounced that  the  president  had  been  requested  by  the 
house  to  correspond  with  the  governors  of  the  dific- 
rent  states,  to  urge  them  to  organize  their  militia  and 
put  it  on  the  footing  established  by  law. 

The  senate  continued  its  deliberations.  After  two 
sessions,  with  closed  doors,  it  was  decided  that  Mr. 
Ross'  motion  should  be  publicly  discussed. 

Gouverneur  Morris,  who  was  in  France,  as  the  envoy 
of  the  United  States,  at  the  beginninsr  of  the  revolu- 

'31 


Jilr8|!r 


"X'Wl 


.■fty 


242 


THE  HISTORV 


tion,  was  a  member  of  this  assembly.  He  liad  not 
awaited  this  pubHc  occasion  to  say,  "  that  the  arrival 
of  the  French  should  be  anticipated,  that  the  acts  of 
the  intendant  were  not  revoked,  that  the  decree  of  the 
king  of  Spain  announced  no  modification,  that  the 
French  troops  were  already  at  sea,  that  the  inhabitants 
of  the  menaced  territories  were  losing  patience,  and 
that  it  was  time  to  come  to  an  open  rupture." 

This  senator  was  considered  one  of  the  most  distin- 
tinguished  writers  of  the  party  denominated  English. 
This  English  policy  will  be  discovered  in  most  of  the 
circumstances  which  we  are  now  about  to  narrate. 
From  the  beginning  of  the  revolution  of  the  United 
.States,  Mr.  Morris  had  been  recommended  to  the  pub- 
lic suffrages  by  his  easy  and  elegant  elocution,  and  by 
his  talents,  but  still  more  by  his  boldness  and  self-con- 
fidence. Such  qualities  give  to  their  possessors  in  times 
of  violent  excitement  a  sort  of  importance,  though  men 
of  this  character  are  rarely  fit  to  manage  public  affairs; 
and  Gouverneur  Morris  soon  saw  the  end  of  the  consi- 
deration which  he  had  enjoyed.  He  fell  in  a  great 
measure  into  obscurity,  as  soon  as  the  cloudy  times 
passed  by. 

Mr.  Livingston,  the  American  minister  at  Paris,  was 
persuaded  that  the  United  States  would  never  possess 
New  Orleans  by  treaty,  and  that  it  ought  to  be  taken 
by  force.  His  intercourse  with  the  French  ministry 
confirmed  him  in  this  impression,*  and  it  is  probable 
that  the  opinions  of  Mr.  Ross  and  Gouverneur  Morris 

*  Mr.  Monrof'*^  Memoic.  pagt"^  Id. 


OF  LOUISIAXA. 


2i3 


were  derived  from  the  correspondence  of  this  envoy; 
but  the  wise  Jeflcrson  persisted  in  his  hopes,  and  tem- 
porized in  order  to  avoid  adopting  any  false  measures 
in  the  midst  of  so  much  uncertainty.  Placing  great 
reliance  on  Mr.  Monroe's  n^.ission,  he  took  the  utmost 
care  to  prevent  any  violent  proceedings  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  the  Mississippi. 

But  this  envoy  had  not  yet  quitted  America;  the  un- 
certainties of  navigation,  and  the  distance  did  not  au- 
thorize the  hope  of  a  prompt  issue  from  so  many  diffi- 
culties. England,  on  her  side,  was  making  seductive 
proposals,  and  her  friends,  in  order  to  induce  their  re- 
ception, might  take  advantage  of  the  five  or  six  months 
which  must  elapse  before  the  result  of  the  negotiation 
intrusted  to  this  plenipotentiary  could  be  learned  at 
Washington. 

It  was  known,  on  the  20th  of  February,  1803,  and 
before  Mr.  Monroe  sailed  for  Europe,  that  the  com- 
mander of  the  squadron,  on  board  of  which  the  divi- 
sion of  troops  intended  for  Louisiana  was  embarked, 
had  received  orders  to  postpone  his  departure.  This 
news,  which  was  very  agreeable  to  the  friends  of  peace, 
momentarily  disconcerted  the  partisans  of  war  or  ex- 
treme measures.  But  soon  resuming  courage,  they 
had  recourse  to  publications  and  different  artifices  by 
which  it  would  be  so  easy  to  excite  troubles,  if  the  free 
presses  that  arc  employed  for  doing  mischief,  were 
not  a  still  surer  instrument  of  correcting  it,  even  when 
they  have  not  been  able  to  prevent  it. 


I 
ill 


-K- 


.,t  iilill 


m 


*****  SF'l 


'^ 


211 


THF-  ni<iH)K\ 


The  discontented  party  liad  recourse  to  a  stratagem 
that  did  not  long  succeed. 

An  article  was  pubUshed  in  a  Kentucky  newspaper, 
in  which  the  eastern  states  were  accused  of  sacrificing 
to  their  own  views  the  interests  of  the  western  states, 
and  the  latter  were  advised  to  separate  from  the  Union 
and  contract  an  alliance  with  the  French  republic. 

The  author  of  the  piece,  who  was  an  inhabitant  oi 
Kentucky,  bore  a  French  name.  A  general  outcry 
obliged  him  to  keep  concealed.  His  effigy  and  his 
writings  were  burned  by  the  people  to  show  the  hor- 
ror with  which  counsels  tending  to  the  division  of  the 
country  inspired  them.  At  the  opening  of  the  federal 
court,  the  grand  jury,  who  alone  could  take  cogni- 
sance of  the  matter,  indicted  the  editor.  The  Ameri- 
cans have  never  supposed  that  there  ought  to  be  a  dis- 
tinction made  between  political  and  other  crimes,  and 
that  special  tribunals  should  be  established  to  try  them. 
They  know  that  if  such  a  weapon  was  in  the  hands  of 
a  party.,  every  accused  person  of  the  other  party  would. 
when  arraigned,  have  to  encounter  the  fatal  preposses- 
sion of  his  judges. 

The  flight  of  this  libeller  put  an  end  to  the  prosecu- 
tion; but  it  was  fully  established  that  every  faction  that 
attempted  to  fortify  itself  by  the  support  of  either  Eng- 
land or  France,  would  draw  on  it  the  animadversion 
of  all  good  citizens. 

Congress  adjourned  on  the  3d  of  March,  1803,  after 
having  receiver]  from  the  different  legislatures  prooij- 


OP  LOUISIANA. 


24  i> 


of  their  entire  confidence  in  its  wisdom,  and  the  pro- 
mise of  seconding  it  by  all  those  measures  of  vigour 
that  circumstances  might  render  necessary. 

M.  Pichon,  the  charge  d'affaires  of  France,  consi- 
dered this  crisis  so  important,  that  he  took  it  upon 
liimsclf  to  write  tc  Lhe  Spanish  governor  of  Louisiana 
to  conjure  him  to  prevent  hostilities  by  revoking  the 
prohibitory  ordinances,  of  which  the  intendant  was  the 
sole  author. 

The  public  mind  was  a  little  calmed  by  the  assu- 
rances given  by  the  Marquis  Casa  Vrujo,  the  minister 
of  Spain,  in  a  note  of  March  10th,  1803,  in  which  he 
officially  declared  thcat  the  intendant  had  acted  without 
authority,  and  that,  in  conformity  with  the  treaty,  a 
place  of  deposite  instead  of  New  Orleans  would  be 
assigned. 

Mr.  Monroe  sailed  from  New  York  on  the  8th  of 
March,  1803,  but  as  the  object  of  his  mission  was  still 
kept  secret,  the  public  apprehension  was  not  quieted. 

President  Jefferson,  feeling  full  confidence  in  the 
measures  on  which  he  had  decided,  did  not  think  pro- 
per to  reply  to  those  who  charged  him  with  pusillani- 
mity.* The  first  consul,  informed  of  the  purport  of 
Mr.  Monroe's  public  instructions,  supposed  that  the 
president  had  also  left  it  to  the  plenipotentiary's  pru- 
dence to  enter,  if  necessary,  into  more  extended  stipu- 
lations, in  relation  to  the  projected  acquisition.  The 
oossibility  of  a  war  between   France  and   England, 

'  Appendix,  No-  11. 


'I:H 


;||gj 


f'^'pi 


!V^*i>l 


"iil 


,-#"■'1 

m 


-HI 

IE 

'Wi 

ill 

M 

H^ 

1 

1 

210 


rHE  HISTORY 


I 


which  this  statesman  foresaw  at  the  distance  ol  .1 
thousand  leagues  from  Europe,  had  suggested  to  Mr. 
Jefferson  the  measures  wliicli  he  liad  just  adopted. 

The  history  of  the  negotiation  renders  necessary 
some  details  respecting  the  diffbrence  wliich  arose  be- 
tween tlie  cahinets  of  the  Tuileries  and  London  in  the 
early  part  of  1803.  Europe  was  enjoying  a  momenta- 
ry respite  after  the  many  revolutions  she  had  under- 
gone. She  then  witnessed  the  recommencement  of 
the  most  violent  crisis  that  ever  perhaps  affected  her 
repose,  and  which  continued  to  agitate  her  during  ten 
years.  The  events  that  I  am  now  going  to  relate  arc 
the  forerunners  of  every  thing  connected  with  the  ces- 
sion of  Louisiana. 

The  Grenville  party,  as  the  F^nglish  termed  it,  \va« 
composed  of  men  of  great  capacity.  They  were  ear- 
nestly intent  on  the  increase  of  the  royal  prerogative, 
which  was  already  strengthened  by  the  persevering  po- 
licy of  Mr.  Pitt:  they  reckoned  this  statesman  in  their 
ranks,  although  he  affected  independence,  confining 
himself  to  manifesting  that  hatred  for  France  which 
he  had  inherited  from  his  father. 

Mr.  Fox  was  the  soul  of  an  opposition  which  seemed 
less  ambitious  than  zealous  for  the  public  good.  He 
was  a  worthy  rival  of  William  Pitt,  and  would  have 
triumphed  over  his  adversary,  if  his  private  conduct 
had  been  more  in  accordance  with  the  uprightness  of 
his  political  principles. 

The  ministry,  as  it  ordinarily  happens,  maintained  a 
position  between  the  parties.    It  had.  at  its  head.  Mi 


OF  LOnsiANA. 


2X1 


Addington*  and  Lord  Hawkcsbiiry,  since  known  under 
the  name  of  Lord  Liverpool.  Doubts  liavc  been  raised 
as  to  the  sincerity  of  their  intentions  wben  they  con- 
cluded the  peace  of  Amiens;  but  we  believe  that  Mr. 
Addington  really  desired  that  it  might  be  durable.  It 
lias  been  said  that  the  chief  consul  placed  from  tlic 
beginning  little  reliance  on  its  continuance,  and  that  lie 
only  regarded  the  peace  as  a  truce.  He  pursued  without 
any  intermission  his  designs  in  Upper  Italy,  and  united 
to  France  under  equivocal  denominations  those  coun- 
tries which  had  been  so  long  disputed  between  her  and 
Austria.  When  these  changes,  and  those  which  he  was 
effecting  in  Holland  and  Switzerland,  had  given  him  a 
great  preponderance  in  the  atVairs  of  Europe,  he  felt 
that  in  order  to  confirm  this  new  order  of  things  and 
exercise  this  vast  supremacy,  he  in  his  turn  required 
the  maintenance  of  peace.  But  he  desired  it  on  con- 
dition of  being  in  some  sort  the  universal  dictator,  and 
lie  was  so  much  the  more  averse  to  every  concession, 
as  the  revocation  of  one  single  act  of  his  power  would 
have  been  followed  by  his  rival's  requiring  the  revoca- 
tion of  all  the  others. 

Like  all  conquerors,  this  great  captain  had  placed 
his  happiness  and  glory  in  transporting  from  one 
country  to  another  bodies  of  youthful  warriors;  in  put- 
ting masses  of  population  in  motion,  and  in  astonish- 
ing the  world  by  the  promptitude  and  success  with 
which  he  executed  the  vastest  and  most  complicated 
designs.     But  there  was  at  this  time  reason  to  think 


*  Hubsequently  created  Viscount  8idmoutli. — Tran^l 


21 » 


THK  HlhTOKY 


ll 


that  the  convulsions  of  empires  had  less  attraction  loi 
him;  he  spoke  of  them  vvitii  a  sort  of  disdain,  and  ap- 
peared to  direct  the  prodigious  activity  of  liis  genius 
to  works  which  in  peace  embellish  society  and  secure 
tranquil  enjoyments  to  nations. 

To  give  to  France  belter  civil  laws,  to  plan  a  rclbrni 
of  the  codes,  to  re-establish  order  in  the  finances,  to 
revive  commerce  and  industry,  were  the  objects  to 
whici),  assisted  by  able  counsellors,  he  consecrated  iiis 
time,  proloiiging  his  labours  even  to  midnight.  If,  with 
these  generous  sentiments,  he  had  thought  that  liberty. 
under  good  laws,  was  the  most  noble  present  that  he 
could  make  to  men,  the  age  in  which  we  live  would 
have  been  called  by  his  name.  Withdrawn,  for  a  short 
time,  from  the  designs  of  a  continental  war,  he  con- 
ceived that  his  republic  could  not  be  flourishing  with- 
out a  commercial  marine,  sustained  and  protected  by 
great  naval  forces.  He  often  repeated  the  following 
maxims:  "Without  the  liberty  of  the  sea,  there  is  no 
happiness  for  the  world.  But,  to  obtain  this  liberty,  it 
is  requisite  that  the  continental  powers  should  impress 
the  English  with  serious  alarm  for  their  commerce.  In- 
stead of  opposing  to  their  maritime  forces  inefFicienl 
fleets,  instead  of  constructing  vessels  of  war,  which 
wUl  sooner  or  later  increase  the  English  navy,  they 
should,  on  the  first  appearance  of  hostilities,  arm  pri- 
vateers, which,  issuing  from  all  the  ports  of  the  conti- 
nent of  Europe  in  pursuit  of  merchant  ships,  would  be 
protected  by  their  number,  and  even  by  their  disper- 
sion.   The  English  cannot  have  recourse  to  reprisal?- 


OF  LOUISIANA. 


219 


lor  they  have  taken  possession  oi"  ahnost  every  brancli 
ol"  commerce.  If  they  leave  ua  a  few  colonics,  it  is  for 
tlic  purpose  of  exhausting  us  in  vain  expenses  for  their 
preservation,  and  to  make  us,  in  spite  of  ourselves,  dis- 
posed to  peace  through  the  fear  of  losing  them.  Fi- 
nally," he  added,  "the  liberty  of  the  seas  must  be 
odious  to  the  English,  because  it  would  confine  thcni 
to  their  natural  share  in  the  general  prosperity." 

That  the  possession  of  colonies  is  a  dangerous  bur- 
den to  a  nation,  to  whom  the  ocean  is  closed  as  soon  ns 
a  maritime  war  commences,  was  then  but  imperfectly 
perceived,  though  twenty-five  years  later  it  became  an 
admitted  truth. 

The  two  powers  were  still  at  peace,  when,  in  the 
middle  of  January,  1803,  the  news  of  the  death  of  Ge- 
neral Leclerc  was  received;  and  the  chief  consul,  per- 
sisting notwithstanding  that  event  in  his  first  views,  had 
with  reluctance  abated  his  exertions  for  the  speedy  de- 
parture of  the  new  forces  which  he  purposed  sending 
to  America. 

These  armaments  had  only  St.  Domingo  and  Lou- 
isiana for  their  object;  but  nothing  was  farther  from 
the  habitual  policy  of  Napoleon  than  half  measures 
and  timid  efforts.  There  never  had  been  an  example, 
while  the  powers  of  Europe  were  at  peace,  of  sending 
such  considerable  forces  into  remote  countries.  The 
anxiety  of  the  English  for  their  colonics  in  the  gulf 
of  Mexfco  might  be  easily  justified,  and  their  ambassa- 
dors and  ministers  were  excusable  for  not  putting  en- 
tire confidence  in  the  protestations  of  the  first  consul 


>  ^i 


'h> 


:,. 


2J0 


J  HE  HISTORY 


on  that  subject.  We  believe  that  they  were  sincere; 
but  France,  once  great,  strong,  and  powerful  in  those 
seas,  who  could  answer  for  the  future  and  guaranty 
Jamaica  and  the  other  British  West  India  islands?  By 
what  means  could  the  French  be  prevented  from  get- 
ting possession  of  all  the  trade  of  the  Spanish  domi- 
nions in  America?  Moderation  rarely  continues  with 
a  great  increase  of  power. 

After  the  peace  of  1802,  Egypt  and  the  Cape  ol 
Good  Hope  were  evacuated  by  the  English;  but  they 
continued  to  occupy  the  island  of  Malta.  The  first  con- 
sul demanded  that  it  should  also  be  evacuated  in  con- 
formity with  the  last  treaty.  He  flirther  asked  that  cer- 
tain editors  of  newspapers  who  abused  him  should  be 
expelled  from  England,  by  virtue  of  the  alien  law ;  and. 
finally,  he  complained  of  plots  that  were  formed  against 
him  even  in  London,  and  under  the  direction  of  men 
who  held  high  offices. 

The  English  government  increased  his  resentment 
by  causing  the  courts  of  justice  to  interpose  in  these 
complaints.  Bonaparte  was  also  offended  with  the  le- 
niency of  the  punishment  adjudged  against  the  author^: 
of  the  libels. 

The  parliament  had  been  opened  on  the  23d  of  No- 
vember, 1802,  and  from  that  time  it  had  been  expect- 
ed, as  well  in  consequence  of  the  king's  speech,  as  ot 
the  debates  to  which  it  gave  rise,  that  the  opposition 
would  make  every  effort  to  render  war  inevitable. 

"The  last  treaty  of  peace,"  Lord  Grenville  said,  "was 
ratified  in  May,  and  the  incorporation  of  Piedmont 


|:f 


h' 


OP  LOUISIANA. 


251 


took  place  in  tlie  month  of  June  Ibllowing.  Parma 
and  Placentia  have  had  the  same  fate,  and  Louisiana 
has  been  extorted  from  Spain  by  treaty."  "  Our  natu- 
ral and  inveterate  enemy,"  said  Mr.  Canning,  "  unre- 
mittedly  pursues  his  designs  against  our  commerce  and 
navigation.  The  hostile  intentions  of  Frfincc  toward^ 
this  country  can  no  longer  be  questioned." 

Both  sides  were  far  from  being  amicably  disposed, 
and  the  grounds  of  dispute  were  only  increased  by  se- 
veral public  proceedings.  The  first  consul,  on  the  8th 
of  February,  1803,  laid  before  the  Corps  Legislatif  a 
statement  of  the  affairs  of  the  republic,  in  which  he 
bitterly  complained  of  a  party  in  England  that  had 
sworn  implacable  hatred  to  France,  as  well  as  of  the 
refusal  of  the  cabinet  of  London  for  the  last  eleven 
months  to  execute  the  treaty  of  Amiens.  In  this  pa- 
per was  the  following  phrase :  "  Five  hundred  thousand 
men  must  and  shall  be  ready  to  defend  and  avenge  the 
republic." 

The  English  governmc  it  appeared  firmly  determined 
not  to  retrograde  one  step,  and  it  manifested  this  reso- 
lution in  the  most  public  manner.  On  the  8th  of 
March  the  king  of  England  sent  a  message  to  the  two 
houses  of  parliament,  in  whicli  he  gave  intimations  of 
an  approaching  rupture.  It  stated  "  that  His  Majesty 
thought  it  necessary  to  acquaint  them,  that,  as  very 
considerable  military  preparations  were  carrying  on  in 
the  ports  of  France  and  Holland,  he  had  judged  it  ex- 
pedient, though  these  preparations  were  avowedly  di- 
Jccted  to  colonial  service,  to  adopt  additional  mea- 


!*T 


**  1*4*5 


■%¥\ 


252 


THE  HISTORi 


m 


i 


sures  of  precaution  for  the  security  of  his  dominions, 
and  that  ho  rched  with  perfect  confidence  on  their 
public  spirit  and  liberahty  to  enable  His  Majesty  to 
adopt  such  measures  as  circumstances  might  appear 
to  require  for  supporting  the  honour  of  his  crown  and 
the  essential  interests  of  his  people." 

Two  days  afterwards  the  two  houses  received  a  mes- 
sage to  the  following  efi'ect:  "That  in  consequence 
of  the  formidable  military  preparations  carrying  on  in 
the  ports  of  France  and  Holland,  pending  the  discus- 
sion of  an  important  negotiation  between  His  Majes- 
ty's government  and  that  of  France,  His  Majesty  had 
thought  it  necessary  to  exercise  the  power  vested  in 
him  by  acts  of  parliament  for  calling  out  and  embody- 
ing forthwith  the  militia  of  these  kingdoms." 

This  first  cry  of  alarm,  on  the  part  of  the  ministry, 
was  regarded  in  France  as  the  precursor  of  approacli- 
ing  hostilities.  The  governments  of  the  two  coun- 
tries, however,  looked  on  the  war  with  a  sort  of  dread. 
which  became  proportionably  greater  as  its  certainty 
increased.  The  first  consul  himself,  although  resolved 
not  to  yield  on  any  point,  regretted  that,  after  having 
advanced  so  far,  he  could  not  get  out  of  the  difiiculty 
with  honour.  But,  according  to  his  usual  practice,  he 
soon  pretended  that  thie  rupture  was  a  fortunate  oc- 
currence, and  that  had  it  happened  two  or  three  ycart 
later,  the  vigour  of  iiis  armies  might  have  been  weak- 
ened by  repose. 

The  two  messages  of  the  king  of  England  had  been 
followed  bv  a  vote  for  ten  thousand  seamen.  The  nxuc 


OF  LOUISIANA. 


253 


of  the  first  consul  was  at  its  height.  Tlie  minister  of 
foreign  affairs  received  orders  to  throw  off*  all  disguise 
with  the  English  ambassador,  and  the  following  expla- 
nation only  served  to  show  that  an  open  rupture  was 
near  breaking  out: 

"All  the  world  knows,"  said  M.  Talleyrand  to  Lord 
Whitworth,  "  that  the  naval  expedition  which  we  were 
preparing  at  Helvoetsluys  was  intended  for  America, 
and  that  it  was  on  the  eve  of  sailing.  The  embarca- 
tion  of  our  troops  and  the  departure  of  our  fleet  have, 
jiowever,  been  countermanded  in  consequence  of  the 
messages  of  the  king  of  England." 

This  readiness  to  stop  the  sailing  of  an  armament, 
couimenced  at  great  expense,  did  not  at  all  accord 
with  the  character  of  the  first  consul;  but,  in  fact,  he 
yielded  nothing.  Before  he  was  acquainted  with  the 
message  of  the  8th  of  March,  180.'},  he  had  looked  on 
war  as  inevitable;  he  had  therefore,  without  hesita- 
tion, renounced  the  intention  of  sending  troops  to 
America,  being  well  aware  that  the  fleet  would  have 
been  captured  during  the  voyage  and  carried  into  Eng- 
land. Thus,  what  M.  Talleyrand  promised  accorded 
with  the  new  plan  which  had  just  been  decided  on. 

After  making  this  easy  concession,  the  French  mi- 
nister added:  "Wc  have  wished  to  give  proofs  of  our 
anxious  desire  to  calm  the  uneasiness  of  the  I^ritish 
government,  and  we  hope  that  it  will  give  us  in  its 
turn  a  satisfactory  answer  res[)ecting  its  preparations. 
If  our  expectations  are  deceived,  it  will  be  necessary 
that  the  first  consul  should  send  twenty  thousand  men 


if^¥ 


lU:,. 


lif'  Sr. 


^•"1*4. 


KJ»ir'4 


mi 


254 


THE  HISTORV 


to  Holland;  a  natural  consequence  of  this  movement 
will  be  the  forming  of  a  camp  on  the  frontiers  of  Ha- 
nover; there  will  be  another  one  at  Calais.  Even  the 
most  ordinary  prudence  will  require  that  the  French 
army  should  be  put  on  a  war  footing,  and  that  prepa- 
rations should  be  made  for  placing  France  in  a  situa- 
tion to  act  either  offensively  or  defensively.  The  first 
consul  was  on  the  eve  of  withdrawing  the  troops  from 
Switzerland ;  but  he  now  is  necessarily  obliged  to  keep 
them  there,  as  well  as  to  send  new  forces  to  Italy.  Re- 
flect, my  lord,  on  this  state  of  things :  if  it  is  not  one 
of  war,  it  is  very  near  it."  There  was  also  some  con- 
versation on  the  occupation  of  Tarentum,  a  post  as 
important  as  Malta  for  a  new  invasion  of  Egypt. 

After  this  conference,  the  first  consul  sent  Duroc  to 
J3erlin,  Colbert  to  Petersburg,  and  persons  in  whom  he 
had  the  greatest  confidence  to  other  courts  to  acquaint 
them  with  the  measures  which  the  message  of  the  8th 
of  March  had  rendered  necessary. 

A  private  and  almost  domestic  incident  was  then 
very  much  commented  on,  and  we  will  now  relate  it 
on  account  of  the  importance  of  the  circumstances 
with  which  it  was  connected. 

Bonaparte  had  not  obliged  himself,  like  other  princes 
little  initiated  in  the  mysteries  of  their  own  policy,  to 
treat  with  ambassadors  and  envoys  exclusively  through 
a  minister.  He  conversed  with  them  tete-a-tete,  and 
even  in  public,  and  frequently  availed  himself  too  free- 
ly of  his  privilege  of  speaking  in  the  name  of  a  pow- 
erful nation.    Only  a  few  days  had  elapsed  since  the 


OF  LOUISIANA. 


2!jI) 


date  of  the  two  messages  of  the  king  of  England. 
The  respective  ambassadors  of  the  two  countries  were 
not  on  that  account  less  assiduous  in  their  attend- 
ance at  audiences  and  formal  receptions.  At  Paris, 
these  assemblies,  which  were  held  at  the  Tuileries, 
were  frequented  by  a  great  many  persons,  and  the  fo- 
reign ministers  mixed  with  the  crowd  of  courtiers. 
One  evening  the  first  consul  was  seen  entering  in  a 
thoughtful,  pensive  mood  surrounded  by  his  usual  re- 
tinue. He  shortened  the  circuit  which  he  commonly 
made  in  the  reception  room,  and  approaching  the  Eng- 
lish ambassador,  said  to  him  in  a  loud  voice :  "  Vou 
are  then  determined  on  war  ?"  "  No,"  replied  Lord 
Whitworth,  "  we  are  too  well  acquainted  with  the  ad- 
vantages of  peace."  To  these  measured  words,  the 
first  consul,  without  being  restrained  by  the  presence 
of  so  many  attentive  and  inquisitive  personages,  re- 
phed  with  warmth ;  "  We  have  made  war  on  one  ano- 
ther for  fifteen  years;  the  storm  thickens  at  London, 
and  appears  to  menace  us.  Against  whom  do  you 
take  precautions?  Wherefore  your  armaments?  Is  it 
that  you  desire  another  fifteen  years'  war?  1  do  not 
arm.  My  good  faith  is  manifest.  Full  of  confidence 
in  a  treaty,  the  ink  of  which  is  hardly  dry,  I  have  not 
listened  to  any  malevolent  rumour,  but  have  banished 
that  mistrust  which  would  make  peace  as  detestable  as 
war.  I  have  not  a  single  ship  of  the  lino  farmed  in  my 
ports;  I  have  shown  no  hostile  intentions.  The  con- 
trary supposition  is  an  egregious  calumny.  I  am  taken 
"inavvares,  and  glory  in  it.    If  the  English  arc  the  first 


i    ,* 


■■-H 


il'-^'i 


AM 


25b 


rHE  HISTOKY 


V'4 


to  draw  the  sword,  I  will  be  the  last  to  sheathe  it.  It 
we  must  cover  solemn  treaties  wiih  black  crape,  if 
those  wlio  have  signed  the  peace  desire  war,  they  must 
answer  for  it  before  God  and  man." 

It  was  by  these  hauglity  menaces  rather  than  by 
good  arguments, — by  this  harsh  and  immethodical  elo- 
quence,— that  Napoleon  meant  to  establish  his  claims, 
or  make  his  enemies  fear  measures  that  he  liad  not 
yet  entirely  decided  on. 

But  the  English  could  defend  their  conduct  by  simi- 
lar arguments,  and  they  were  not  more  just  in  their 
proceedings.  Both  sides  had,  however,  in  fact  dis- 
armed, and  both  sides  also  pretended  to  act  by  way  of 
reprisals. 

The  excitement  was  confined,  at  Paris,  to  the  pa- 
lace and  the  hotels  of  the  ministers.  At  London,  it 
had  been  manifested  in  parliament  and  among  the  peo- 
ple. The  ministers  were  drawn  on  farther  than  they 
had  anticipated ;  the  message  of  the  8th  of  March  had 
rendered  the  opposition  triumphant,  and  it  flattered  the 
national  vanity  by  offering  the  hope  of  immediately 
restoring  England  to  the  first  rank  Avhich  she  had  lost. 

The  conquests  of  Bonaparte  had  substituted  to  di- 
plomatic forms  and  discussions,  hasty  decisions  adopt- 
ed, as  it  were,  on  the  field  of  battle.  England,  so  long 
accustomed  to  interfere  in  all  matters,  was  now  in  the 
habit  of  learning,  all  of  a  sudden  and  without  being 
previously  consulted,  that  a  province  or  vast  country 
had  changed  its  master  and  its  constitution.  She  ex- 
claimed against  the  overthrow  of  the  European  system. 


OF  LOUISIAiNA. 


257 


as  well  as  against  the  acquisitions  made  by  France 
of  the  Sparjish  part  of  St.  Domingo  and  of  Louisiana; 
and  whilst  she  was  complaining,  the  accession  of  other 
territories  disturbed  still  more  the  former  condition  of 
Europe. 

The  English  ministry  had  long  refused  to  state 
clearly  its  complaints.  At  length,  on  the  16th  of 
March,  I^ord  Hawkcsbury  sent  a  note  respecting  them 
to  the  English  ambassador  at  Paris,  with  orders  to 
communicate  it.  It  was  in  these  terms:  '•  The  treaty 
of  Amiens,  like  every  other  antecedent  treaty  or  con- 
vention, was  negotiated  with  reference  to  the  actual 
date  of  possession  of  the  difiereriT.  parties,  and  to  the 
treaties  or  public  engagements  by  which  they  were  bound 
at  the  time  of  its  conclusion;  and  if  that  state  of  pos- 
session and  of  engaijements  is  so  materially  altered 
by  the  act  of  either  of  the  parties  as  to  aficct  the  na- 
ture of  the  compact  itself,  the  other  party  has  a  right, 
according  to  the  law  of  nations,  to  interfere  for  the 
purpose  of  obtaining  satisfaction  or  compensation  for 
any  essential  difference  which  such  acts  may  have  sub- 
sequently made  in  their  relative  situation.  If  the  in- 
terference of  the  French  government  in  the  general 
affairs  of  Europe;  if  their  interposition  with  respect  to 
Switzerland  and  Holland,  wdiose  independence  was 
guarantied  by  them  at  the  time  of  the  conclusion  of 
the  treaty  of  peace;  if  the  acquisitions  wdiich  have 
been  made  by  France  in  various  quarters,  but  particu- 
larly those  in  Italy,  have  extended  the  territory  and  in- 
creased the  power  of  France.  Mis  Majesty  would  he 


ili?  ft 


m 


2oB 


riiF.  Hi.sroRv 


warranted,  consistently  with  the  spirit  of  the  treaty  o' 
peace,  in  claiming  equivalents  for  those 'acquisitions 
as  a  counterpoise  to  the  augmentation  of  the  power 
of  France.  Under  these  circumstances,  His  Majcstv 
feels  that  he  has  no  alternative,  and  that  a  just  regard 
to  his  own  honour,  and  to  the  interests  of  his  people, 
makes  it  necessary  for  him  to  declare  that  he  cannot 
consent  that  his  troops  should  evacuate  the  island  -;t 
Malta  until  substantial  security  has  been  provided  i'oi 
those  objects  which,  under  the  present  circumstances, 
may  be  materially  cp-'angcred  by  their  removal." 

On  both  sides  the  object  was  by  the  plunder  of  a 
third  party  to  restrain  or  punish  a  rival;  but  it  is  ma- 
nifest that  in  this  career  of  injustice,  Bonaparte  had 
in  Europe,  at  least,  gone  very  much  beyond  the  other 
power. 

These  important  matters  were  discussed  at  the  Tui- 
leries,  at  one  of  those  private  conferences,  in  which 
the  first  consul,  carried  away  by  the  abundance  of  liis 
ideas,  energetically  stated  the  wrongs  done  by  his  ad- 
versaries, without  admitting  that  he  had  committed 
any  himself 

'•  The  principles  of  a  maritime  supremacy,"  he  said 
to  his  counsellors,  "•  are  subversive  of  one  of  the  no- 
blest rights  that  nature,  science,  and  genius  have  se- 
cured to  man:  I  mean  the  right  of  traversing  every  sea 
with  as  much  liberty  as  the  bird  flies  through  the  air;  ol 
making  use  of  the  waves,  winds,  climates,  and  produc- 
tions of  the  globe;  of  bringing  near  to  one  another. 
by  a  bold  navigation,  nations  that  have  been  eeparatcd 


since  th( 
gions  thi 
This  is  V 
tions." 

One  o 
privilege 
'•Have  r 
a  contini 
great  infl 
but,  inste 
turned  to 
from  the 
and  reac 
much  irr 
to,  "obli 
us  twent) 
our  revo 
vigation. 
The  proc 
peace  ms 
peal  anev 
approprifl 
all  the  CO 
hastens  h 
us,  let  us 

"  Now, 
theories  t 
can  resis 
veignty  oi 
'1  the  exc 


OF  LOUIS  FAN  A. 


2.'59 


since  t)ie  creation;  of  carrying  civilization  into  re- 
gions that  arc  a  prey  to  ignorance  and  barbarism. 
This  is  what  England  would  usurp  over  all  other  na- 


» 


tions. 

One  of  the  ministers  who  were  present  enjoyed  the 
privilege  of  speaking  to  him  with  freedom.  lie  said- 
"Have  not  the  English  as  many  motives  for  drcdding 
a  continental  supremacy  and  being  alarmed  at  your 
great  influence  over  all  Europe.'"'  He  seemed  to  reflect; 
but,  instead  of  replying  to  so  direct  an  argument,  he 
turned  to  the  extracts,  which  were  always  made  for  him 
from  the  debates  in  the  English  house  of  commons, 
and  read  a  passage,  with  which  lie  appeared  very 
much  irritated.  "France,"  said  the  speech  referred 
to,  "obliges  us  to  recollect  the  injury  which  she  did 
us  twenty-five  years  since,  by  forming  an  alliance  with 
our  revolted  colonies.  Jealous  of  our  commerce,  na- 
vigation, and  riches,  she  wishes  to  annihilate  them. 
The  proceedings  of  the  first  consul,  at  the  end  of  a 
peace  made  with  too  much  facility,  compel  us  to  ap- 
peal anew  to  arms.  The  enemy,  by  a  dash  of  the  pen, 
appropriates  to  himself  territories  more  extensive  than 
all  the  conquests  of  France  for  many  centuries.  He 
hastens  his  preparations;  let  us  not  wait  till  he  attacks 
us,  let  us  attack  first." 

"Now,"  continued  the  first  consul,  "propose  your 
theories  and  your  abstract  propositions,  and  see  if  they 
can  resist  the  eflforts  of  these  usurpers  of  the  sove- 
reignty of  the  sea.  Leave  commerce  and  navigation 
'u  the  exclusive  possession  of  a  single  people,  and  the 


>fr  ',1 


..^    ,:  J  I 

..'<i>.<8ti  1 

'*4 

.M 

•J«iO 


t  UK    HISrORV 


i^lobc  Will  be  subjected  by  tbcir  arm?!,  and  by  ibo  gold 
wliicii  occupies  the  place  of  armies."  He  then  added 
these  words,  in  which  are  found  tlic  first  indication  ot 
his  policy  rcspcctinfr  the  United  States,  and  winch  a 
sort  of  inaccuracy  renders  still  more  energetic.  "  To 
emancipate  nations  from  the  commercial  tyranny  of 
England,  it  is  necessary  to  balance  her  influence  by  a 
maritime  power  that  may  one  day  become  her  rival: 
that  power  is  the  United  States.  The  English  aspire 
to  dispose  of  all  the  riches  of  the  world.  I  shall  bo 
useful  to  the  whole  universe,  if  I  can  prevent  their 
ruling  America  as  they  rule  Asia.*' 

Circumstances  apparently  less  importnnt  than  con- 
ferv^nces  with  ambassadors  or  speeches  in  parliament, 
tended  to  redouble  the  habitual  irritation  of  the  first 
consul. 

Out  of  the  two  houses  the  English  expressed  tliciii- 
selves  with  still  more  vehemence  than  in  the  parlia- 
mentary debates.  It  was  to  be  seen  from  the  newspa- 
pers, in  which  public  opinion  manifests  itself,  that  the 
people  would  soon  know  how  injurious  to  England  had 
been  the  policy  of  those  who  had  strengthened  by  a 
solemn  treaty  the  establishment  of  a  powerful  repub- 
lic in  Europe,  and  that  liberty,  once  acclimated  in  a 
country  so  happily  situated  as  France,  would  make 
advances  there,  which  England  would  sooner  or  later 
have  reason  to  regret. 

A  French  Journal,  published  in  London,  was  particu- 
larly distinguished  by  the  extreme  violence  with  wliicli 
it  was  written.    The  intention  of  excitins  the  nation  to 


OF  I-OUISIAN.V. 


2til 


tlio  gold 
311  added 
cation  of 
wliieii  a 
c.  "To 
ranny  of 
nee  by  a 
er  rival: 
ih  aspire 
shall  be 
cut  their 

Imn  con- 

.rliamcnt. 

the  first 

cd  tliciii- 
le  parlia- 
1  newspa- 
that  the 
rjand  had 
led  by  a 
ul  rcpub- 
itod  in  a 
dd  make 
r  or  later 

s  partial" 
ith  which 
nation  to 


ii  war  plainly  appeared ;  and  ot  this  object,  indeed,  the 
abuse  aimed  at  the  Chief  of  tlic  Frcncli  government, 
did  not  permit  a  doubt  to  be  entertained.  It  was  known 
how  easily  he  was  irritated,  and  lie  was  insulted  even 
in  the  persons  of  the  members  of  his  family.  The  pa- 
pers printed  at  Paris  were  not  more  moderate  with  re- 
f;pcct  to  Hn«jland  and  the  reigning  house,  and  they  ex- 
cited more  attention,  as  it  was  well  understood  that 
ihc  first  consul  was  no  stranger  to  their  composition. 
The  opinion  of  the  English  was  not  unanimous  for  the 
iesunij)tion  of  arms.  Those  who  paid  the  most  at- 
tention to  the  complaints  raised  against  the  treaty, 
easily  remarked  that  commercial  jealousy  and  mari- 
time interests  had  the  greatest  share  in  them.  Every 
permanent  agreement  seemed  impossible  between  two 
nations,  whose  pretensions  were  so  irreconcilable.  The 
one  wished  a  monopoly  of  the  commerce  of  the  world; 
the  other  desired  to  participate  in  it. 

These  discussions  were  to  be  terminated  bv  war. 
and  Bonaparte,  who  relied  on  himself  alone  to  carry  it 
on  with  success  on  the  continent,  well  knew  that  colo- 
nies could  not  be  defended  without  naval  forces;  but 
so  great  a  revolution  in  the  plan  of  his  foreign  policy 
was  not  suddenly  made.  It  may  even  be  perceived, 
from  the  correspondence  of  the  minister  of  foreign  af- 
fairs at  this  period,  how  gradually  and  in  what  man- 
ner the  change  was  effected.  M.  Talleyrand  renewed, 
after  a  long  silence,  his  communications  with  Mr.  Li- 
5  ingston.*     Bonaparte  had  only  a  very  reduced  navy 

*  Appendix,  No.  U2, 


tR!!H 


'»N 


'•Ml^;*,i 


'        I 


m 


•2()2 


THK  HISTORY 


lo  oppose  to  llic  most  fonnidablc  power,  tliat  lias  ever 
had  the  dominion  of  the  ocean.  Louisiana  was  at  the 
mercy  of  the  Kn<j;hsh,  wlio  had  a  naval  armament  in 
the  neighhonriiii^  seas,  and  <zood  <j;arrisons  in  Jamaica 
and  the  Windward  ishuuls.  It  mii^lit  he  supposed  that 
they  would  open  the  cauipaiLjn  hy  this  easy  con(iucst. 
which  would  have  silenced  those  voices  in  parliamciu 
that  were  favourable  to  the  continuance  of  peace.  Yk 
concluded  from  this  state  of  thinifs  that  it  was  requisiti 
to  change  without  delay  his  policy  in  relation  to  St. 
Domingo,  Louisiana,  and  the  United  States.  He  could 
not  tolerate  indecision;  and  before  the  rupture  was  de- 
cided on,  he  adopted  the  same  course  of  measures,  as 
if  it  had  been  certain. 

He  had  no  other  plan  to  pursue  when  lie  abandoned 
his  views  respecting  Louisiana  than  to  prevent  the  loss. 
which  France  was  about  sustaining,  being  turned  to 
the  advantage  of  England.  He,  however,  conceived 
that  he  ought,  before  parting  with  it,  to  inform  himsell 
respecting  the  value  of  an  acquisition,  which  was  the 
fruit  of  his  own  negotiations,  and  the  only  one  that  had 
not  been  obtained  by  the  sword. 

Though  full  of  confidence  in  himself,  and  in  his  me- 
thod of  forming  a  prompt  and  bold  decision  on  state 
afiairs,  he  willingly  consulted  those  who  possessed 
practical  experience,  and  he  had  too  much  reliance  in 
his  own  powers  to  fear  engaging  in  a  discussion.  He 
sometimes  allowed  it  to  be  perceived  to  which  side  he 
incHned,  and  he  was  not  above  that  paltry  artifice,  so 
common  with  many  persons,  who,  though  they  ask  nd- 


OF  LOt'lSIAN/V. 


mii 


Vice,  Ibrni  bctorelmnd  an  opinion  which  they  'Icsire  to 
sec  triumph. 

lie  wished  to  have  the  opniion  ol"  two  ministers,  who 
had  been  accjuainted  wilh  tliose  counlriei?.  and  to  one 
of  whom  the  aihninistration  of  the  colonies  was  I'ann- 
liar.  lie  was  in  the  iiahit  of  e.xplaininif  himself,  with- 
out preparation  or  reserve,  to  those  in  wliom  lie  had 
toiilidence. 

On  Easter  Sunday,  the  lOth  of  Ai)ril,  I {{03,  after 
liaving  attended  to  tlie  solenmities  and  ceremonies  of 
the  day,  lie  called  those  two  counsellors  to  him,  and  ad- 
dressing tiiem  with  that  vehemence  and  passion  which 
he  particularly  manifested  in  political  ailuirs,  said;  "I 
know  the  full  value  of  Louisiana,  and  1  have  been  de- 
sirous of  repairing  the  fault  of  the  Frrnch  negotiator 
who  abandoned  it  in  17G.'J.  A  few  lines  of  a  treaty 
have  restored  it  to  me,  and  1  have  scarcely  recovered 
ilwhen  I  must  expect  to  lose  it.  But  if  it  escapes  from 
nic,  it  shall  one  day  cost  dearer  to  those  who  oblige 
inc  to  strip  myself  of  it  than  to  those  to  whom  i  wish 
to  deliver  it.  The  English  have  successively  taken 
from  France,  Canada,  Cape  Breton,  Newfoundland, 
Nova  Scotia,  and  the  richest  portions  of  Asia.  They 
urc  engaged  in  exciting  troubles  in  St.  Domingo.  They 
shall  not  have  the  Mississippi  which  they  covet.  Lou- 
isiana is  nothing  in  comparison  with  theiV  conquests  m 
all  parts  of  the  globe,  and  yet  the  jealousy  they  feel  at 
the  restoration  of  this  colony  to  the  sovereignty  ot 
France,  acquaints  me  with  their  wish  to  take  posses- 
sion of  it.  and  it  is  thus  that  thev  will  begin  the  war 


Hjclj 


M 


'it4«« 


m^ 


««*i 


*m 


I*    • 

w 


^i:l 


*^u 


261 


rHE  HISTOKV 


11 


They  have  twenty  ships  of  war  in  the  gulf  of  Mexico,  tiiey 
sail  over  those  seas  as  sovereigns,  whilst  our  affairs  in 
St.  Domingo  have  been  growing  worse  every  day  since 
the  death  of  Leclerc.  The  conquest  of  Louisiana  would 
be  easy,  if  they  only  took  the  trouble  to  make  a  de- 
scent there.  I  have  not  a  moment  to  lose  in  putting  I'l 
out  of  their  reach.  1  know  not  whether  they  are  not 
already  there.  It  is  their  usual  course,  and  if  I  had 
been  in  their  place,  I  would  not  have  waited.  I  wish. 
if  there  is  still  time,  to  take  from  them  any  idea  tiiar. 
they  may  have  of  ever  possessing  that  colony.  1  think 
of  ceding  it  to  the  United  States.  I  can  scarcely  say 
that  I  cede  it  to  them,  for  it  is  not  yet  in  our  possession. 
If,  however,  I  leave  the  least  time  to  our  enemies,  f 
shall  only  transmit  an  empty  title  to  those  republicun.-- 
Avhose  friendship  I  seek.  They  only  ask  of  me  one 
town  in  Louisiana,  but  I  already  co  .sidcr  the  colony 
as  entirely  lost,  and  it  appears  to  me  that  in  the  hands 
of  this  growing  power,  it  will  be  more  useful  to  the  po- 
licy and  even  to  the  commerce  of  France,  than  it  1 
should  attempt  to  keep  it.*' 

One  of  these  ministers  had  served  in  the  auxiliai} 
army  sent  by  France  to  the  United  States  during  their 
revolution.  The  other  had,  for  ten  years,  been  in  the 
public  employ,  either  as  secretary  of  the  '''rench  lei>a- 
tion  to  the  continental  congress,  or  as  tlic  head  of  the 
administration  of  St.  Domingo. 

"We  should  not  hesitate,''  said  the  last  minister. 
••  to  make  a  sacrifice  of  that  which  is  about  slipping 
from  us.     War  with  England  is  inevitable;  shall  wc  be 


OF  LOUISIANA. 


2(55 


iiiinistei'. 
slipping 


able  with  very  inferior  naval  forces  to  defend  Louisi- 
ana against  that  power?  The  United  States,  justly 
discontented  with  our  proceedings,  do  not  hold  out  to 
us  a  solitary  liaven,  not  even  an  asylum,  in  case  of  re- 
verses. They  have  just  become  reconciled  with  us,  it 
is  true;  but  they  have  a  dispute  with  the  Spanish  go- 
vernment, and  threaten  New  Orleans,  of  which  we  shall 
only  have  momentary  possession.  At  the  time  of  the 
discovery  of  Louisiana  the  neighbouring  provinces 
were  as  feeble  as  herself;  they  arc  now  powerful,  and 
Louisiana  is  still  in  her  infancy.  The  country  is  scarce- 
ly at  all  inhabited;  you  have  not  fifty  soldiers  there. 
Where  are  your  means  of  sending  garrisons  thither? 
Can  we  restore  fortifications  that  are  in  ruins,  and  con- 
struct a  long  chain  of  forts  upon  a  frontier  of  four  hun- 
dred leagues?  If  England  lets  you  undertake  these 
things,  it  is  because  they  will  drain  your  resources,  and 
she  will  feel  a  secret  joy  in  seeing  you  exhaust  your- 
self in  efforts  of  which  she  alone  will  derive  the  profit. 
Vou  will  send  out  a  squadron:  but,  while  it  is  crossing 
the  ocean,  the  colony  will  fall,  and  the  squadron  will  in 
its  turn  be  in  danger.  Louisiana  is  open  to  the  English 
from  the  north  by  the  great  lakes,  and  if,  to  the  south, 
they  show  themselves  at  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi, 
New  Orleans  will  immediately  fall  into  their  hands. 
What  consequence  is  it  to  the  inhabitants  to  whom  they 
arc  subject,  if  their  country  is  not  to  cease  to  be  a  co- 
lony? This  conquest  would  be  still  easier  to  the  Ame- 
ricans; they  can  reach  the  Mississippi  by  several  navi- 
gable rivers,  and  to  be  masters  of  the  country  it  will  be 

34 


■■M., 


'"^'••onj 


m" 


?Rj 


"<ii« 


"?w* 


-:**il 


t 


\yi 


Hi: 


m 


266 


I'HK  HISTORV 


sufficient  for  them  to  enter  it.  The  populntion  and  re- 
sources of  one  of  these  two  neighbours  every  day  in- 
crease; and  the  other  has  maritime  means  sufficient  to 
take  possession  of  every  thing  that  can  advance  iicr 
commerce.  The  colony  has  existed  for  a  century,  and 
in  spite  of  efforts  and  sacrifices  of  every  kind  the  last 
accounts  of  its  population  au''  resources  attest  its 
weakness.  If  it  becomes  a  Froncn  colony  and  acquire;; 
increased  importance,  there  will  be  in  its  very  prosperi- 
ty a  germ  of  independence,  which  will  not  be  long  in 
developing  itself  The  more  it  flourishes,  the  lesi 
chances  we  will  have  of  preserving  it.  Nothing  is  more 
uncertain  than  the  future  fate  of  the  European  colonies 
in  America.  The  exclusive  right  which  the  parent 
states  exercise  over  these  remote  settlements  become; 
every  day  more  and  more  precarious.  The  people  lee! 
humbled  at  being  dependent  on  a  small  country  in  Ku- 
rope,  and  will  liberate  themselves,  as  soon  as  they  have 
a  consciousness  of  their  own  strcnirth. 

"  The  French  have  attempted  to  form  colonics  \\\ 
several  parts  of  the  continent  of  x\mcrica.  Their 
efforts  have  every  where  proved  abortive.  The  Eng- 
lish are  patient  and  laborious,  they  do  not  fear  the  so- 
litude and  silence  of  newly  settled  countries.  The 
Frenchman,  lively  and  active,  recjuires  society;  he  is  fond 
of  conversing  with  his  neighbours.  lie  willingly  entcr.^ 
on  the  experiment,  but  at  the  first  disappointment. (jiiiu 
the  spade  or  axe  for  the  chase."  The  first  consul,  in- 
terrupting these  observations,  asked  how  it  happened 
that  the  French,  who  were  incapable  of  succeeding  m 


M'^ 


OF  i>Ol'ISIAi\A. 


267 


I  continontal  colony,  had  always  made  great  progress 
in  t'le  West  Indies.  "  Because,"  replied  the  minister, 
•  tlio  slaves  perform  all  the  labour.  The  whites,  who 
would  be  soon  exhausted  by  the  heat  of  the  climate, 
have,  however,  the  vigour  of  body  and  mind  necessary 
to  direct  their  operations.'' — ••  I  am  again,"  said  the  first 
consul,  '•  undeci^csd  as  to  maintaining  or  abolishing  sla- 
very. By  whom  is  the  land  cultivated  in  Louisiana.''" 
"  Slavery,"  answered  the  minister,  "  has  given  to  Lou- 
isiana half  her  population.  An  inexcusable  imprudence 
was  committed  in  suddenly  granting  to  the  slaves  of 
St.  Domingo,  a  liberty  for  which  they  had  not  been  pre- 
pared. The  blacks  and  whites  have  both  been  the 
victims  of  this  great  fault.  But,  without  inquiring  at 
this  day  how  it  would  l)e  proper  to  repair  it,  let  us  ac- 
knowledge that  the  colonics  where  slavery  is  preserved 
arc  rather  burdensome  than  useful  to  France.  At  the 
same  time,  let  us  beware  how  we  abandon  them;  they 
have  not  the  means  of  governing  themselves.  The 
Creoles  are  French,  they  have  been  encouraged  in  that 
mode  of  culture,  and  in  that  system  which  now  causes 
their  misfortunes.  1  jct  us  preserve  them  from  new  ca- 
lamities. It  is  our  duty  to  j)rovide  for  their  defence, 
lor  the  administration  of  justice  and  for  the  cares  of 
government.  But  for  what  good  purpose  would  you 
su!)icct  yourself  to  still  greater  embarrassments  in 
Louisiana.''  You  would  there  constantly  have  the  co- 
lonial laws  in  collision  with  those  at  home.  Of  all  the 
scourges  that  have  afllicted  the  human  race,  slavery 
li;  the   most  detestable;   but  even  humanity  requires 


<'iti 


"■m 


P'  .>''.' 


y 


I 


C; 


l«4' 


V'H- 


$4' 


268 


Tin;  KisTDHv 


great  precautions  in  the  application  of  the  renicd}, 
and  you  cannoi  apply  it  if  Louisiana  sliould  again  be- 
come French.  Governments  still  half"  resist  eman- 
cipation: they  tolerate  in  secret  what  tliey  ostensibly 
condemn,  and  they  arc  themselves  embarrassed  by 
their  false  [)osition.  The  general  sentiment  of  the 
world  is  favourable  to  emancipation;  it  is  in  vain 
that  the  colonists  and  planters  wish  to  arrest  a  move- 
ment wiiich  public  opinion  approves.  The  occupation 
of  Louisiana — a  colony  with  slaves — will  occasion  us 
more  expense  than  it  will  afford  us  profit. 

"  But  there  is  another  kind  of  slavery  of  which  thi- 
colony  has  lost  the  habit:  it  is  that  of  the  exclusive 
system.  Do  you  expect  to  re-establish  it  in  a  country 
contiguous  to  one  where  commerce  enjoys  the  great- 
est liberty?  The  reign  of  prohibitory  laws  is  over. 
when  a  numerous  population  has  decided  to  throw  oil 
the  yoke.  Besides,  the  productions  which  were  so 
long  possessed  exclusively  by  a  few  commercial  peo- 
ple, are  ceasing  to  be  privileged  articles.  The  sugar- 
cane and  the  coffee  tree  are  every  where  cultivated, 
and  at  a  very  small  expense.  Every  people  expects  to 
raise  on  its  own  account  all  the  provisions  adapted  to 
its  territory  and  climate.  There  are  on  the  globe,  be- 
tween the  tropics.  lands  a  thousand  times  more  exten- 
sive than  our  islands,  and  susceptible  of  the  same  kind 
of  culture.  Monopoly  is  rendered  impossible  when  the 
productions  are  so  multiplied,  niid  the  Louisianians 
will  not  permit  it  to  enslave  their  commerce.  Would 
you  subdue  le-iistanc'    l<v  force  of  arms  ?    The  male 


remc'd} . 
[Tain  be- 
t  eman- 
stensibly 
Lssed  by 
:  of  tlic 
in  vain 
a  move- 
cupatioii 
asion  us 

lich  thi; 
exclusive 
,  country 
le  great- 
is  over, 
hrow  off 
were  so 
Mai  peo- 
e  siigar- 
iltivated. 
ipccts  to 
apted  to 
lobe,  bc- 
re  extcii- 
me  kind 
,vhen  the 
isianians 
Would 
ho  malf- 


OF  LOUISIANA. 


269 


contents  will  find  support  in  the  neighbourhood,  and 
you  will  make  the  United  States,  with  whom  recipro- 
cal interests  ought  to  connect  us  for  centuries,  enemies 
of  France.  D<  not  expect  from  the  Louisianians  any 
attachment  for  your  person.  They  render  homage  to 
vour  fame  and  to  your  exploits;  but  the  love  of  nations 
is  reserved  for  those  princes  whom  they  regard  as  the 
authors  of  their  happiness;  and,  whatever  may  be  your 
solicitude  with  respect  to  theirs,  it  will  be  for  a  long 
time  and  perhaps  lor  ever  without  effect.  These  co- 
lonists have  lost  the  recollection  of  France;  they  arc 
of  three  or  four  difi'erent  nations,  and  liardly  regard 
Louisiana  as  their  country.  Laws  which  are  incessant- 
ly varying,  chiefs  who  cannot  know  those  whom  they 
are  sent  to  govern,  and  are  not  known  by  them,  changes 
cflected  according  to  the  unsettled  interests  of  the 
ruling  state  or  the  inexperience  of  ministers,  the  con- 
tinual danger  of  becoming  belligerents  in  quarrels  to 
which  they  are  really  strangers;  such  are  the  causes 
which  have  for  a  hundred  years  extinguished  in  their 
hearts  every  sentiment  of  aflection  for  masters  who 
are  two  thousand  leagues  distant  from  them,  and  who 
would  exchange  them  or  convey  them  away  like  an  ar- 
ticle of  merchandise.  In  order  that  a  country  should 
exist  and  possess  citizens,  the  certainty  ot  stability 
must  be  united  with  the  feeling  of  prosperity.  The 
Louisianians,  on  learning  that  they  had  again  become 
French,  said  to  one  another,  '  This  change  will  not  lasl 
longer  than  the  others.''  If,  citizen  consul,  you,  who  have 
W  one  of  the  first  acts  of  vour  jrovcrnment  made  suf- 


<t<.'{g 


270 


THE  HISTORY 


\L 


ficicntly  apparent  your  intention  of  giving  this  country 
to  France,  now  abandon  the  idea  of  keeping  it,  there 
is  no  person  tiiat  will  not  admit  that  you  only  yield  to 
necessity,  and  even  our  merchants  will  soon  acknow- 
\(m\"c  that  Louisiana  free,  olfers  to  them  more  chances 
of  profit  than  Louisiana  subjected  to  a  monopoly. 
Commercial  establishments  arc  at  this  day  preferable 
to  colonies,  and  even  without  commercial  establish- 
ments it  is  best  to  let  trade  take  care  of  itself" 

The  other  minister  was  of  a  totally  opposite  opinion. 
"^\e  are  still  at  peace  with  England,"  said  he,  '"the 
colony  has  just  been  ceded  to  us,  it  depends  on  the 
first  consul  to  preserve  it.  It  would  not  be  wise  in  liim 
to  abandon,  for  fear  of  a  doubtful  danger,  the  most  im- 
portant establishment  that  we  can  form  out  of  France, 
and  despoil  ourselves  of  it  i'or  no  other  reason  than 
the  possibility  of  a  war:  it  would  be  as  well,  if  not  bet- 
ter, that  it  should  be  taken  from  us  by  force  of  arms.  II 
peace  is  maintained  the  cession  camiot  be  justified,  and 
this  premature  act  of  ill-lbundcd  appreiiension  would 
occasion  the  most  lively  regrets.  To  retain  it  would, 
on  the  other  hand,  be  for  our  commerce  and  naviga- 
tion an  inestimable  resource,  and  to  our  maritime  pro- 
vinces the  subject  of  universal  joy.  The  advantages 
which  we  have  derived  from  the  colonies  are  still  pre- 
sent to  every  mind.  Ten  nourishing  cities  have  been 
created  by  this  trade;  and  the  navigation,  opulence, 
and  luxury  which  euibellish  Paris  arc  the  results  of  co- 
lonial industry.  There  can  be  no  marine  without  co- 
lonics: no  colonies  without  a  powerful  marine!     The 


Ikl 


OF  rojrisiAW. 


271 


political  system  of  Europe  is  only  preserved  by  a  skil- 
fully combined  resistance  of  many  against  one.     This 
is  as  necessary  with  respect  to  the  sea  as  to  the  land. 
if  it  is  not  intended  to  submit  to  the  tyranny  of  a  uni- 
versal sovereignty  our  commerce  and  the  loss  of  the 
immense  advantages  of  a  free  navigation.    To  this  you 
will  not  submit;  you  will  not  acknowledge  by  your  rc- 
jignation  that  England  is  the  sovereign  mistress  of  the 
seas,  that  she  is  there  invulnerable,  and  that  no  one 
can  possess  colonies  except  at  her  good  pleasure.     It 
does  not  become  you  to  fear  the  kings  of  England.    If 
they  should  seize  on  Louisiana,  as  some  would  have 
you  fear,  Hanover  would  be  immediately  in  your  hands 
as  a  certain  pledge  of  its  restoration.      France,  de- 
prived of  her  navy  and  her  colonics,  is  stripped  of  half 
her  splendour,  and  of  a  great  part  of  her  strength. 
Louisiana  can  indemnify  us  for  all  our  losses.     There 
does  not  exist  on  the  globe  a  single  port,  a  single  city 
susceptible  of  becoming  as  imi)ortant  as  New  Orleans, 
and  the  neighbourhood  of  the  American  states  already 
miikes  it  one  of  the  most  commercial   in  the  world. 
The  Mississippi  does  not  reach  there  till  it  has  re- 
ceived twenty  other  rivers,  most  of  w-hich  surpass  in 
size  the  finest  rivers  of  Europe.   The  country  is  at  last 
known,  the  principal  explorations  have  been  made,  and 
expenses  have  not  been  spared,  especially  by  Spain. 
Forts  exist:  some  fertile  lands  suitable  to  the  richest 
kinds  of  culture  are  already  fully  in  use,  and  others 
only  await  the  necessary  labour:  this  colony,  open  to 


**»»ii 


lil;:^ 


*-;*;. 


;;ttj||| 


'Ill 


TflF,  inSTORY 


the  activity  of  tlic  French,  will  soon  compensate  them 
for  the  loss  of  India. 

"The  climate  is  the  same  as  that  of  Hindostan,  and 
the  distance  is  only  a  quarter  as  great.  The  naviga- 
tion to  the  Indies,  by  doubling  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope. 
has  changed  the  course  of  trade  from  Europe,  and  ru- 
ined Venice  and  Genoa.  What  will  be  its  direction,  it 
at  the  isthmus  of  Panama  a  simple  canal  should  be 
opened  to  connect  the  one  ocean  with  the  other?  The 
revolution  which  navigation  will  then  experience  will 
be  still  more  considerable,  and  the  circumnavigation 
of  the  globe  will  become  easier  than  the  long  voy- 
ages that  arc  now  made  in  going  to  and  returning  from 
India.  Louisiana  will  be  on  this  new  route,  and  it  will 
then  be  acknowledged  that  this  possession  is  of  ines- 
timable value. 

"  A  boundless  country  belongs  to  us,  to  which  (lie 
savages  possess  only  an  imaginary  right.  They  over- 
run vast  deserts,  with  the  bow  in  their  hand,  in  pursuit 
of  wild  beasts.  But  the  social  state  requires  that  the 
land  should  be  occupied,  and  these  wandering  huntei> 
arc  not  proprietors.  The  Indian  has  only  a  right  to 
his  subsistence,  and  this  we  will  provide  for  him  at  a 
small  expense. 

"  All  the  productions  of  the  West  Indies  suit  Lou- 
isiana. This  variety  of  products  has  already  intro- 
duced large  capitals  into  countries  that  were  so  long 
an  uninhabited  wilderness.  If  we  must  abandon  "'' 
Domingo,  Louisiana  will  take  its  place.     Gonside' 


OF   LOUISIANA. 


'27:i 


H3- 


likewise  tlic  injury  wliich  it  may  do  us  if  it  becomes 
our  rival  in  those  j)roductions,  of  wliich  we  liavc  so 
long  had  the  monopoly.  Attempts  liavc  been  made  to 
introduce  there  the  vine,  the  ohvc,  and  the  mulberry 
tree;  and  tliese  experiments,  wliich  Spain  has  not  been 
able  to  prevent,  have  but  too  well  succeeded.  If  the 
colony  should  become  free,  Provence  and  our  vine- 
yards must  prepare  for  a  Ibarful  competition  with  a 
country  new  and  of  boundless  extent.  If,  on  the  other 
li>iiid,  it  is  subjected  to  our  laws,  every  kind  of  culture 
injurious  to  our  productions  will  be  prohibited. 

"It  is  even  for  the  advantage  of  Europe  that  France 
should  be  rich.  So  long  as  she  shared  with  England 
the  commerce  of  America  and  Asia,  the  princes  and 
cabinets  that  consented  to  be  subsidized,  profited  by  the 
competition  in  their  ofiers.  What  a  dillerence  will  it 
make  to  them  all,  if  there  is  to  be  no  more  competi- 
tion, and  if  England  alone  is  to  regulate  this  tariff  of 
amity  among  princes!  Alone  rich,  she  alone  would 
i,nve  the  law. 

"  Finally,  France,  after  her  long  troubles,  requires 
such  a  colony  for  her  internal  pacification;  it  will  be 
for  our  country  what  a  century  ago  were  for  England. 
die  settlements  which  the  emigrants  from  the  three 
kingdoms  have  raised  to  so  high  a  degree  of  prospe- 
rity: it  will  he  the  asylum  of  our  religious  and  politi- 
cal dissenters,  it  will  cure  a  part  of  the  maladies  which 
the  revolution  has  caused,  and  be  the  supreme  con- 
ciliator of  all  the  parties  into  which  wc  are  divided. 

35 


\  If 


271 


THK  HISTOHV 


it^,'*' 


You  will  there  find  the  roniedics  tor  which  you  searcli 
with  so  much  solicitude." 

The  first  consul  teriuinated  the  conference  without 
making  his  intentions  known.  The  discussions  were 
prolonged  into  the  night.  The  ministers  remained  at 
St.  Cloud;  and  at  daybreak  he  sunmioned  the  one  who 
had  advised  the  cession  of  Louisiana,  and  made  him 
read  the  despatches  that  had  just  arrived  from  [iOii- 
don.  His  ambassador  informed  him  that  naval  and 
military  preparations  of  every  kind  were  making  with 
extraordinary  rapidity. 

"The  English,"  said  Napoleon,  "ask  of  me  Lampc- 
dousa,  which  does  not  belong  to  me,  and  at  the  same 
time  wish  to  keep  Malta  for  ten  years.  This  island. 
where  military  genius  has  exhausted  all  the  means  ot 
defensive  fortification  to  an  extent  of  which  no  one 
without  seeing  it  can  form  an  idea,  would  be  to  tlicni 
another  Gibraltar.  To  leave  it  to  the  English  would 
be  to  give  up  to  them  the  connnerce  of  the  Levaui. 
and  to  rob  my  southern  provinces  of  it.  They  wish 
to  keep  this  possession,  and  have  uic  immediately  eva- 
cuate Holland. 

"  Irresolution  and  deliberation  are  no  longer  in  sea- 
son. I  renounce  Louisiana.  It  is  not  only  New  Or- 
leans that  I  will  cede,  it  is  the  whole  colony  without 
any  reservation.  I  know  the  price  of  what  1  abandon, 
and  I  have  sufficiently  proved  the  importance  that  f  at- 
tach to  this  province,  since  my  first  diplomatic  act  with 
Spain  had  for  its  object  the  recovery  of  it.    I  renounce 


^  li 


OK  LOUISIANA. 


27  :> 


it  with  the  greatest  regret.  To  attempt  obstinately 
to  retain  it  would  be  folly.  I  direet  you  to  negotiate 
this  allhir  with  the  envoys  of  the  United  States.  Do 
not  even  await  the  arrival  of  Mr.  Monroe:  have  an  in- 
terview this  very  day  with  Mr.  Livingston;  but  I  re- 
quire a  great  deal  of  money  for  this  war,  and  I  would 
not  like  to  eorninenrc  it  with  new  eontrihulious.  For 
ii  hundred  y(>ars  Franee  and  Spain  have  been  incurring 
expenses  for  improvements  in  Louisiana,  for  which  its 
trade  has  never  indemnified  them.  Largt;  sums,  which 
will  never  be  returned  to  the  trc^asury,  have  been  lent 
to  companies  and  to  agriculturists.  The  [)rice  of  all 
these  things  is  justly  due  to  us.  If  I  should  regulate 
iny  terms,  according  to  the  value  of  these  vast  regions 
to  the  United  States,  the  indemnity  would  have  no  li- 
inits.  I  will  be  moderate,  in  consideration  of  the  ne- 
cessity in  which  I  am  of  making  a  sale.  But  kee{)  this 
to  yourself.  I  want  fifty  millions,  and  for  less  than  that 
sum  1  will  not  treat;  I  would  rather  make  a  desperate 
attempt  to  keej)  these  fine  countries.  To-morrow  you 
shall  have  your  full  powers."  The  new  plenipotentia- 
ry then  made  some  general  observations  on  the  ces- 
sion of  the  rights  of  sovereignty,  and  upon  the  aban- 
donment of  what  the  Germans  call  the  souk,  as  to  whe- 
ther they  could  be  the  subject  of  a  contract  of  sale  or 
exchange.  Boiiaparte  replied;  "You  are  giving  mc 
in  all  its  perfection  the  ideology  of  the  law  of  nature 
and  nations.  But  I  require  money  to  make  war  on  the 
richest  nation  of  the  world.  Send  vour  maxims  to 
London;  I  am  sure  that  they  will  be  j:really  admired 


i'stt 


■  \'l 


r 


..■K-. 


r^%. 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


fii4i 


m 


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there,  and  yet  no  great  attention  is  paid  to  thcin  wlun 
the  question  is,  the  occupation  ol'  the  finest  regions  ol 
Asia. 

''  Perliaps  it  will  also  be  objected  to  me,  that  tli» 
Americans  may  be  I'ound  too  powerlUl  for  Euro|)c  in 
two  or  three  centuries:  but  my  foresight  does  not  cm- 
brace  sucii  remote  fears.  J3esides,  we  may  hcrcalui 
expect  rivalries  among  the  members  of  tiic  Union. 
The  confederations,  that  arc  called  perpetual,  only  lasl 
till  one  of  the  contracting  parties  find^  it  to  its  iniercst 
to  break  them,  and  it  is  to  prevent  the  danger,  to 
which  the  colossal  power  of  F^ngiand  exposes  us,  tiiat 
1  would  provide  a  remedy." 

The  minister  made  no  rei)ly.  'IMie  first  consul  conti- 
nued: "  Mr.  iMonroe  is  on  the  point  of  arriving.  To 
this  minister,  going  two  thousand  leagues  from  h\< 
constituents,  the  president  must  have  given,  after  de- 
fining the  object  of  his  mission,  secret  instruction*, 
more  extensive  than  the  ostensible  authorization  ot 
congress,  for  the  stipulation  of  the  payments  to  br 
made.  Neither  this  minister  nor  his  colleague  is  pre- 
pared for  a  decision  which  goes  infinitely  beyond  any 
thing  that  they  arc  about  to  ask  of  us.  Begin  by 
making  them  the  overture,  without  any  subterfuge. 
You  will  acquaint  me,  day  by  day,  hour  by  hour,  ot 
your  progress.  The  cabinet  of  London  is  informed  of 
the  measures  adopted  at  Washington,  but  it  can  liavo 
no  suspicion  of  those  which  I  am  now  taking.  Ob- 
serve the  greatest  secrecy,  and  recommend  it  to  thc 
American  ministers:  they  have  not  a  less  interest  than 


OF   LO(  iSlA.NA.  277 

voursclt'  in  conforminir  to  this  counsel.  You  will  cor- 
respond with  M.  dc  Talloyrand,  who  alone  knows  iny 
intentions.  If  I  attended  to  his  advice,  France  would 
confine  her  ambition  to  the  left  bank  of  the  Klune,  and 
would  only  make  war  to  protect  the  weak  states  and 
to  prevent  any  dismemberment  of  her  possessions. 
But  he  also  admits  that  the  cession  of  Louisiana  is 
not  a  dismemberment  of  France.  Keep  him  informed 
of  the  progress  of  this  afikir." 

The  conferences  began  the  ramc  day  between  Mr. 
Livingston  and  M.  Barbc  Marbois,  to  whom  the  first 
consul  confided  this  negotiation.  But  the  American 
minister  had  not  the  necessary  powers.  He  had  re- 
sided at  Paris  about  two  years.  The  first  object  of 
his  mission  had  been  indemnities  claimed  by  his  coun- 
trymen for  prizes  made  by  the  French  during  peace. 
The  vague  answers,  and  even  the  expectations  that 
had  been  held  out  to  him,  had  been  attended  with  no  re- 
sult. The  republican  pride  had  been  irritated,  and  Mr. 
Livingston,  who  had  become  distrustftd,  feared  that  the 
overtures  relating  to  Louisiana  were  only  an  artifice  to 
gain  time.  Pic  received,  without  putting  entire  confi- 
dence in  it,  the  overture  which  was  made  to  him  by 
Marbois  of  a  cession  of  the  whole  province.  Howe- 
ver, after  some  discussion  on  a  sum  that  was  vaguely 
brought  forward,  he  refiised  to  go  beyond  thirty  mil- 
lions, saving  an  augmentation  of  this  price  by  the 
amount  of  the  indemnity  to  be  given  for  the  prizes 
taken  from  the  Americans  in  time  of  peace.  He  was. 
indeed,  unwilling  to  agree  upon  so  high  a  price,  unles.- 


W 


4. Li 


I 


'I 


yu 


9\ 


:i4l^«l 


278 


THK  HISTOKV 


the  Stipulation  was  accompaniocl  by  a  clause  of  not 
making  any  payments  till  after  the  ratitication  by  coii- 


'W 


gress. 


These  preliminary  discussions  were  scarcely  entered 
on,  and  their  results  could  not  have  been  anticipated, 
when  information  was  received  of  the  landing  of  Mi. 
Monroe  at  Havre. 

Mr.  Livingston,  always  inclined  to  feel  distrust,  m 
which  he  seemed  to  be  justified  by  the  many  decep- 
tions that  liad  been  previously  practised  on  him,  wrote 
to  Mr.  Monroe,  on  his  arrival,  that  the  true  means  o' 
succeeding  in  his  negotiation  was,  "  to  give  an  assu- 
rance that  the  United  States  were  already  in  possession 
of  New  Orleans."*  Mr.  Monroe  arrived  at  Paris  on 
the  r2th  of  April,  and  immediately  had  with  his  col- 
league a  conference,  little  calculated  to  make  him  ex- 
pect  success  from  his  mission.  '•  I  wish,"  said  Mr.  Li- 
vingston to  him,  "tlr.i  he  resolution  offered  by  Mr. 
Ross  in  the  senate  hau  oocn  adoi)ted.  Only  force  can 
give  us  New  Orleans.  We  must  employ  force.  Let  us 
first  get  possession  of  the  country  and  negotiate  aftcr- 

wards.''t 

Mr.  Monroe,  anxious,  though  not  discouraged,  began 
his  conferences  the  ne.xt  day  with  M.  de  Marbois. 

Up  to  this  period  the  controversy  had  its  branches 
on  the  Mississippi,  at  Washington,  at  Paris,  and  at  Ma- 
drid. The  French  and  Spanish  courts,  having  their  at- 
tention drawn  to  other  subjects,  did  not  even  corres- 

•  Appendix,  No.  l.i. 

t  Journal  of  the  mission  by  Colonel  John  Mercer.  Mr.  Mon- 
roe'* Memoir. 


v)!-'   I^Olli'-IANA. 


279 


pond  respecting  it  witl)  their  ministers  ut  Washington; 
and  tliese  envoys,  left  to  themselves,  were  under  the 
necessity  of  acting  at  a  venture.  The  arrival  of  Mr. 
Monroe  changed  this  state  of  things.  The  powers  of 
which  he  was  the  bearer  were  common  to  him  and  Mr. 
Livingston.  The  French  and  Auicrican  ministers  had 
an  equal  interest  in  not  allowing  the  negotiation  to  lin- 
ger; it  had  at  last  a  central  point,  and  nrde  rapid  pro- 


a 
iTCSS. 


The  first  difliculties  were  smoothed  by  a  circum- 
stance, which  is  rarely  met  witli  in  congresses  and  di- 
plomatic conferences.  The  plenipotentiaries  having 
been  long  acquainted,  were  disposed  to  treat  one  ano- 
ther with  mutual  confidence. 

iMr.  Livingston,  chancellor  of  the  State  of  New 
Vork,  had  been  a  member  of  congress  and  minister  of 
foreign  affairs.  Ke  was  the  head  of  one  of  those  pa- 
trician families,  which  in  consequence  of  former  ser- 
vices, honourable  conduct,  and  a  large  fortune  worthily 
employed,  are  the  ornaments  c)f  the  states  to  which 
they  belong.  Mr.  Monroe,  who  had  previously  been 
L^overnor  of  the  state  of  Virginia,  is  the  same  indivi- 
dual,  who  has  since  been  president  of  the  United  States 
for  eight  years,  and  justified  in  that  high  office  the  con- 
tidcnce  of  his  fellow  citizens.  Marbois,  who  was  cm- 
ployed  to  negotiate  with  them,  had  been  engaged  for 
thirty-five  years  in  public  atliiirs  of  great  importance; 
for  which  his  qualifications  had  been  a  correct  judg- 
ment, and  a  character  thoroughly  independent.  He 
had  during  the  whole  war  of  the  American  revolution 


t' ; 


i;   1 


r  11 


•2«0 


IHE  HISTORY 


resided  near  the  congress.  The  aftairs  of  this  new 
power  had  long  been  famihar  to  him,  and  those  of  the 
soutliern  continent  had  become  eqnally  so  by  a  parti 
cular  circumstance.  The  French  directory,  whose  im- 
proper measures  he  had  always  opposed,  had  revenged 
themselves  by  banishing  him  to  Sinnamari,  and  two 
years  and  a  half  of  exile  had  made  him  still  better  ac- 
quainted with  the  wants,  and  general  condition  of  tlit 
colonies. 

The  three  negotiators  had  seen  the  origin  of  the 
American  republic,  and  for  a  long  time  back  their  re- 
spective duties  had  established  between  them  an  inter- 
course on  public  aliiiirs,  and  an  intimacy,  which  does 
not  always  ex'st  between  foreign  envoys,  and  the  mi- 
nisters of  the  power  to  which  they  are  sent.  They 
could  not  see  one  another  again  without  recollecting 
that  they  had  been  previously  associated  in  a  design, 
conceived  for  the  happiness  of  mankind,  approved  by 
reason  and  crowned  after  great  vicissitudes  by  a  glo- 
rious success.  Tliis  good  understanding  of  the  pleni- 
potentiaries did  not  prevent  their  considering  it  a  duty 
to  treat,  on  both  sides.,  for  the  conditions  most  advan- 
tageous to  their  respective  cDuntries. 

Mr.  Monroe,  still  aftcctcd  by  the  distrust  of  his  coi- 
league,  did  not  hear  without  surprise  the  first  overtures 
that  were  frankly  made  by  M.  de  Marbois.  Instead  of 
the  cession  of  a  town  and  its  inconsiderable  territory. 
a  vast  portion  of  America  was  in  some  sort  otTered  to 
the  United  States.  They  only  asked  for  the  mere  right 
of  navigating  the  Mississippi,  and  their  sovereignty 


OF  U)riSIANA.  281 

was  about  to  be  extended  over  the  larj^est  rivers  of  the 
world.  They  passed  over  an  interior  frontier  to  carry 
their  limits  to  the  great  Pacific  Ocean. 

Deliberation  succeeded  to  astonishment.  Tiie  two 
joint  plenipotentiaries,  without  asking  an  opportunity 
for  concerting  measures  out  of  the  presence  of  the 
French  negotiator,  immediately  entered  on  explana- 
tions, and  the  conferences  rapidly  succeeded  one  ano- 
ther. 

The  negotiation  had  three  objects.  First,  the  ces- 
sion, then  the  price,  and,  finally,  the  indemnity  due  for 
the  prizes  and  their  cargoes.  After  having  communi- 
cated their  respective  views  on  these  difl'erent  points, 
it  was  agreed  to  discuss  them  separately,  and  even  to 
make  three  distinct  treaties.  The  subject  of  the  ces- 
sion was  first  considered.  The  full  powers  of  the  Ame- 
rican plenipotentiaries  only  extended  to  an  arrange- 
ment respecting  the  left  bank  of  the  Mississippi,  in- 
cluding New  Orleans.  It  wfv  impossible  for  them  to 
have  recourse  to  their  government  for  more  ample  in- 
structions. Hostilities  were  on  the  eve  of  commencing. 
The  American  plenipotentiaries  had  not  to  leflect  long 
to  discover  that  the  circumstances,  in  which  France 
was  placed,  were  the  most  fortunate  for  their  country. 

In  the  space  of  twenty-five  years,  the  United  States 
had,  by  treaties  with  the  European  powers  and  the  In- 
dians, gradually  advanced  to  the  Mississippi.  By  the 
proposed  cession,  vast  regions  to  the  west  were  about 
to  belong  to  them  without  dispute.  It  relieved  them 
^rom  the  necessity  of  erecting  forts  and  maintaining 

3B 


4 


M 


garrisons  on  a  French  Irontior.  NVIiilst  ambition  and 
passion  for  conquests  expose  the  nations  of  Europe  to 
continual  wars,  coniinercc,  agriculture,  equitable  laws, 
and  a  wise  liberty  must  guaranty  to  the  United  States 
all  the  benefits  of  the  social  state,  without  any  of  its- 
dangers.  A  serious  but  pacific  struggle  might  then 
take  place  between  the  enlightened  and  improved  in- 
dustry of  the  old  nations,  and  tho  territorial  riches  ol 
a  new  people;  and  this  rivalship,  useful  to  the  world. 
was  going  to  be  exercised  in  the  most  (.'xtensive  career 
that  has  ever  been  opened  to  the  eflbrts  of  man. 

At  the  yamc  time,  a  consideration  of  another  de- 
scription was  presented  to  the  view  of  the  negotiator^. 
They  were  about  once  more  to  dispose  of  Louisiann. 
not  only  without  consulting  its  inhabitants,  but  with- 
out its  being  possible  that  they  should  suspect,  at  tin 
distance  of  two  thousand  leagues,  that  their  dearest 
interests  were  then  to  be  decided  on.  "^I'hc  three  mi- 
nisters expressed  their  sincere  regrets  at  this  state  of 
things.  But  a  preliminary  of  this  nature  was  rendered 
impossible  by  circumstances,  and  to  defer  the  cession 
would  have  been  to  make  Louisiana  a  colony  of  Eng- 
land— to  render  that  power  predominant  in  America. 
and  to  weaken  for  centuries  the  state  whose  airirran- 
dizcment  in  tiiat  part  of  the  globe  the  whole  world 
must  desire.  This  diniculty,  which  could  not  be  solved. 
was  at  once  set  aside. 

As  soon  as  the  negotiation  was  entered  on,  the  Ame- 
rican ministers  declared  that  they  were  ready  to  treat 
on  the  footing  of  the  cession  of  the  entire  colony,  and 


OV  I.OUI.^IANA. 


283 


llicy  did  not  hesitate  to  take  on  themselves  the  respon- 
sibility of  augmenting  the  sum  that  tliey  had  hccn  {lu- 
thorized  to  oiler.  Tlie  draft  of  the  principal  treaty 
was  communicated  to  them.  They  had  prepared  ano- 
ther one,  but  consented  to  adopt  provisionally  as  the 
basis  of  their  conferences  that  of  the  French  negotia- 
tor, and  they  easily  agreed  on  the  declaration  contained 
ill  the  first  article;  "The  colony  or  province  of  Louisi- 
ana is  ceded  by  France  to  the  United  States,  with  all 
Its  rights  and  appurtenances,  as  fully  and  in  the  same 
manner  as  they  have  been  acquired  by  the  French  re- 
public, by  virtue  of  the  third  article  of  the  treaty  con- 
cluded with  His  Catholic  Majesty  at  St.  ildephouso,  on 
the  1st  of  October,  I  {{GO."  Terms  so  general  seemed, 
however,  to  render  necessary  some  explanations,  rela- 
tive to  the  true  extent  of  liouisiana.  The  Americans 
at  fust  insisted  on  this  point.  They  connected  the 
(jucstion  of  limits  with  a  guarantee  on  the  part  of 
France,  to  put  them  in  possession  of  the  province,  and 
give  them  the  enjoyment  of  it. 

in  treaties  of  territorial  cession,  the  guarantee  of 
the  jirantor  is  a  usual  clause.  Publicists  even  assert 
that  where  it  is  omitted  in  terms,  it  is  not  the  less  obli- 
gatory of  right. 

There  were  some  historical  and  diplomatic  research- 
es on  the  first  occupation  and  earliest  acts  of  sove- 
reignty. But  they  were  only  attended  with  the  results 
usual  in  such  cases.  Travellers  and  historians  had 
not  left  on  this  subject  any  but  vague  and  general  no- 
tions: they  had  only  narrated  some  accidents  of  na- 


m 


t        i 


'm\ 


2»1 


lilK  IIISTOKV 


!''>£ 


vigation,  some  acts  of  occupation,  to  whicli  contradic- 
tory ones  rniglit  be  opposed.  According  to  old  docii- 
nieiits,  the  bislio|)ric  of  Louisiana  extended  to  the  Pa- 
cific Ocean,  and  tlic  limits  of  the  diocess  thus  defined 
were  secure  from  all  dispute.  But  this  was  at  the  most 
a  matter  in  expectancy,  and  the  Indians  of  these  re- 
gions never  had  any  suspicion  of  the  spiritual  jurisdic- 
tion, which  it  was  designed  to  exercise  over  them. 
Besides,  it  had  no  connexion  with  the  rights  of  sove- 
reignty and  property.  One  important  point  was,  how- 
ever, beyond  all  discussion;  according  to  the  then  ex- 
isting treaties,  the  course  of  the  Mississippi,  in  descend- 
ing this  river  to  the  thirty-first  degree  of  north  latitude, 
formed  the  boundary  line,  leaving  to  the  United  State? 
the  country  on  its  left  bank ;  to  the  right,  on  the  other 
hand,  there  were  vast  regions  without  well  defined  boun- 
daries, although  France  had  formerly  included  a  great 
part  of  them  in  what  was  called  Upper  Louisiana:  tlii>^ 
was  particularly  the  case  with  the  territories  to  the 
south  of  the  Missouri. 

The  limits  of  Louisiana  and  Florida,  to  the  soutii 
of  the  thirty-first  degree,  were  not  free  from  some  dis- 
putes, which  possessed  importance  on  account  of  the 
neighbourhood  of  the  sea,  and  the  embouchure  of  the 
rivero.  However,  this  country,  disregarded  by  the  Eu- 
ropean powers,  that  successively  possessed  it,  was 
scarcely  mentioned  in  the  conferences.  France  had 
had  only  the  smallest  portion  of  it.  The  name  of  Flori- 
da could  not  have  been  inserted  in  the  treatv  withoiH 
preparing  great  difficulties  for  the  fiitum. 


UK  ^olJI.s^A^A. 


2HJ 


riic  boundary  to  the  iiortli  anil  norlli-wcst  was  still 
less  easy  to  describe.  Kven  tlic  cour.^e  of  the  Missis- 
iippi  might  give  ri^e  to  some  border  disputes:  for  that 
ureat  river  receives  beyond  the  forty-tliird  degree  se- 
rcral  branches,  then  regarded  as  its  sources.  A  geo- 
iirapliical  chart  was  bcCore  the  plenipotentiaries.  They 
negotiated  with  entire  good  i'aitli;  they  frankly  agreed 
that  these  matters  were  full  of  uncertainty,  but  they  had 
110  means  of  quieting  the  doubts.  The  French  nego- 
iiator  said;  "  Even  this  map  inlbrms  us  that  many  of 
these  countries  are  not  better  known  at  this  day  than 
when  Columbus  landed  at  the  Bahamas;  no  one  is  ac- 
quainted with  them.  The  Knglish  themselves  have  ne- 
ver explored  them.  The  circumstances  arc  too  press- 
ing to  permit  us  to  concert  matters  on  this  subject  with 
the  court  of  Madrid.  It  would  be  too  long  before  this 
discussion  could  be  terminated,  and  perhaps  that  go- 
vei.  .lent  would  wish  to  consult  the  viceroy  of  Mexico, 
(s  it  not  better  for  the  United  States  to  abide  by  a  ge- 
neral stipulation,  and,  since  these  territories  are  still  at 
this  day  for  the  most  part  in  the  possession  of  the  In- 
dians, await  future  arrangements,  or  leave  the  matter 
tor  the  treaty  stipulations  that  the  United  States  may 
make  with  them  and  Spain.'*  In  granting  Canada  to 
the  English,  at  the  peace  of  17G3.  we  only  extended 
the  cession  to  the  country  that  we  possessed.  It  is, 
however,  as  a  consequence  of  that  treaty,  that  Eng- 
land has  occupied  territory  to  the  west,  as  far  as  the 
ij'reat  Northern  Ocean."  Whether  the  American  ple- 
'lipotentiaries  had  themselves  desired  what  was  pro- 


I'c 


m 

■tr 


n 

■!■! 


2l{h 


lilK   UlblUKV 


posed  to  tlioiu,  or  that  llicse  words  all'orded  llioni;. 
ray  of  li;4lit,  llicy  declared  lliat  tlicy  ko|)t  to  \\\c  \v\u\, 
of  the  ."kl  article  of  the  treaty  of  St.  Ildi^plioiiso,  wliidi 
was  inserted  entire  in  tlie  first  article  of  tlie  treaty  oi 
cession.* 

M.  Marbois,  who  olfered  the  draft,  said  several  times; 
•'  The  lirst  article  may  in  lime  give  rise  to  dilliculliCN 
they  are  at  this  day  insurmountable;  but  if  they  do  iioi 
stop  you,  I,  at  least,  desire  that  your  government  siiouM 
know  that  you  have  been  warned  of  them." 

It  is  in  fact  important  not  to  introduce  andjiguoii.^ 
clauses  into  treaties:  however,  the  American  [)leni|)(i- 
tentiaries  made  no  more  ol)j(;ctioiis,  and  if,  in  appeal- 
ing to  be  resigned  to  these  general  terms  through  ne- 
cessity, they  considered  them  really  preferable  to  more 
precise  stipulations,  it  must  be  admitted  that  the  evciii 
lias  justified  their  foresigiit.  The  shores  of  the  West- 
ern Ocean  were  certainly  not  included  in  the  cession: 
but  the  United  Stales  are  already  established  there. 

The  French  negotiator,  in  rendering  an  account  ol 
the  conference  to  the  first  consul,  pointed  out  to  liim 
the  obscurity  of  this  article  and  the  inconveniencics  of 
so  uncertain  a  stipulation.  He  replied,  ••  that  if  an  ob- 
scurity did  not  already  exist,  it  would  perhaps  be  good 
policy  to  put  one  there." 

We  have  reported  this  answer  in  order  to  have  an 
opportunity  of  observing  that  the  article  finds  a  better 
justification  in  the  circumstances  of  the  time,  and  that 
sound  policy  disavows  all  obscure  stipulations.   If  they 

*  Appendix,  No.  14. 


UK  I.OI  I^IA.N  \.  287 

arc  pomclimo?  ndvaiitnt'coiis  at  the  monicnt  of  a  dilVi- 
ctilt  negotiation,  they  may  all'ord  matter  in  the  sequel 
lor  tlie  gieatcst  embana.-isment.s. 

Hcfore  passin;/  to  the  other  articles  of  the  treaty,  wo 
will  conclude  our  remarks  on  the  i?uhject  ol  the  boun- 
daries. 

The  negotiations  which  took  place  several  years  al- 
u.Twards  with  Spain,  relative  to  the  limits  of  Louisia- 
na, were  long  and  dillicult.*     'J'hc  govermiient  of  the 


•  liouisiaiia  wa-  ceded  hy  Ftaiicc  to  iIk-  I'liited  States,  with  all 
its  lights  and  apj)iiih'iiaiices,  as  tullv  and  in  the  ^alne  niaiiiuT  as 
they  had  been  ac«|uiied  l)y  tlic  FrtMuh  ie|)ul)lic.  The  tiealy  of  St. 
Ilclephoiiso  retiocedes  to  France,  "the  province  of  liDiiisiaiia,  with 
die  same  extent  that  it  now  has  in  the  hands  of  Spain,  and  that 
It  had  when  Fiance  possessed  it:  and  such  as  it  >h<»uld  be  idler  the 
treaties  subsequently  entered  into  between  Spain  and  other  si;Ues.'' 

To  understand  the  tjuestion,  btiig  a;^itated  between  tlie  I'nited 
■"tates  and  Spain,  it  is  necessary  to  remember  tliat  I-ouisiana  was 
dismembered  by  France  in  176  2-.3;  the  portion  east  of  the  Missis- 
•ippi,  exce[)ting  the  island  of  Orleans,  beinjj;  conveyed  to  Knu;land, 
.iiul  the  remainder  of  the  province  to  Spain.  The  section  which 
w'Ai  ceded  to  Great  Britain  includes  what  is  now  Illinois,  Kentucky, 
Tennessee,  Mississippi,  and  Jf'e^l  Flori.Ui. 

By  the  same  treaty  that  France  ceded  the  eastern  part  of  liuu- 
isiana  to  England,  Spain  also  yielded  to  her  Florida  and  all  that 
she  possessed  on  the  continent  of  North  America  to  the  east  and 
southeast  of  the  Mississippi.  liy  the  treaty  of  1 THJ  between  Spain 
and  Great  Britain,  the  latter  power  granted  to  the  former  not  only 
all  of  Florida  that  she  had  lost  in  the  preceding  war,  but  also  a  con- 
siderable portion  of  what  had  been  held  by  France  as  FiOuisiana. 

Under  these  circumstances,  it  was  contended  by  the  I'nitetl  States 
that  they  were  entilleil  by  the  treaties  of  cession  from  Spain  to  France 
anil  from  F"rancc  to  the  United  States,  not  only  to  the  portion  of  Lou- 
isiana, which  Spain  had  received  direct  from  France  in  ir(i2-3,  and 
to  which  it  was  attempted  to  restrict  their  claim,  but  to  the  whole  of 
the  province  possessed  by  France  before  the  dismemberment,  so 
tar  as  Spain  was  capable  of  ceding  it  at  the  date  of  the  treaty  of 


IN,».[: 


m 


im 


THE  HISTORV 


United  States,  instead  oi"  frankly  acknowledging  thai 
there  was  ground  for  reasonable  doubts,  attempted  to 
establish  their  claims  as  incontestable.  The  ministers 
of  the  catholic  king  put  forward  maxims  which  appa- 
rently belong  to  the  law  of  nations,  but  which  are  witli- 
out  any  efficacy  when  they  have  only  publicists  for 
champions.  The  following  passage  is  extracted  from 
a  note  addressed  by  Don  Louis  de  Onis  to  the  secre- 
tary of  state,  on  the  5th  of  January,  1813,  ten  }cari 
after  the  cession :  "  It  is  a  principle  of  public  law  thai 
the  property  of  a  lake,  of  a  strait  of  the  sea,  or  of  a 
country,  whatever  may  be  its  extent,  is  acquired  by  the 
occupation  of  its  principal  points,  provided  no  other 
power  has  made  a  settlement  in  the  interior."  Thus 
spoke  the  minister.  A  few  years  afterwards,  the  vast 
possessions  of  Spain  in  America  were  withdrawn  from 
her  sovereignty. 

The  cession  of  the  Floridas,  by  confounding  the  two 
territories,  put  an  end  to  a  discussion  till  that  time  inex- 
tricable respecting  the  eastern  boundaries  of  Louisiana; 
the  western  were  then  the  more  easily  settled,  as  Spain 
already  found  herself  under  the  necessity  of  removing 
every  obstacle  that  might  tend  to  render  her  interest!^ 
complicated  in  those  countries;  and  the  treaty  con- 
cluded on  the  22d  of  February,  1819,  terminated  one 
of  the  disputes  in  whicli  this  power  was  involved.  It 
was  then  agreed  that  tiie  Sabine  should  separate  the 
dominions  of  the  two  states. 


St.  lUlephonso,  Jind  including,  of  course,  a  part  of  what  wa?  thci 
called  Florida.     See  Appendix,  No.  19. — Tkansj. 


OF  J.Ol  ISIA.NA. 


2«!l 


This  same  treaty  detcriniiies  tlicir  boundary  line,  in 
«Toing  from  tlic  sources  of  the  Arkansas  to  the  Pacific 
Ocean.  It  follows  the  course  of  the  Arkansas  to  its 
sources  in  the  Ibrty-second  degree,  and  thence  pro- 
ceeds by  that  parallel  of  latitude  to  the  South  Sea. 

An  ukase  of  the  Emperor  Alexander  of  the  iVth  of 
September,  1821,  asserts  that  the  claims  of  Russia 
(0  the  north-west  coast  of  America  extend  from  the 
northern  extremity  of  that  continent  to  the  fifty-first 
degree  of  north  latitude.*  It  is  likewise  at  the  fifty- 
first  degree  that  the  United  States,  setting  out  from 
the  forty-second  degree,  limit  their  pretensions.  They 
have  even  shown  a  disposition  to  stop  at  the  forty-ninth 
degree. 

England  and  the  United  States  have  not  been  able 
to  agree  on  the  occupation  of  these  regions.  By  a 
convention  of  tho  20th  of  October,  1818,  the  territory 
respectively  claimed  by  them  was  to  be  open  for  ten 
years  to  the  subjects  of  both  powers.  This  term  has 
recently  expired,  and  the  arrangement  has  probably 
terminated.t  In  pursuance  of  the  treaty  of  Ghent,  the 
important  post  on  the  Columbia  river  was  restored  by 
the  English  to  the  United  States. 

*  By  the  3(1  article  of  the  convention  of  8t.  Peteisburt^,  of  tln^ 
fytli  of  April,  1824,  it  was  a;i;reed  tiiat  no  Russian  establishment 
'liould  be  formed  on  the  nortli-west  coast  of  America,  south  of  54' 
40'  north  latitude,  and  no  American  north  of  the  same  parallel. — 
Transl. 

t  This  agreement  was  indefinitely  renewed  by  the  convention  ot 
tlie  6th  of  August,  189.7,  as  will  be  seen  in  a  note  to  Part  III. — 
fnwsi,. 

37  ' 


VM 

JiM' 

itH(|E 

^Hli 

'^W 

H' 

ifj 

'liS' 

;V. 

1 1 

)•;:!' 

*l 

Si       W 

III 

"1. 

if 

«.:«L 

H      B 

,  ^ 

■ 

'■1 

1 

U,| 

1 

1  j8 

^1' 

! 

lillll: 

cl  1  'i  M 

2i)() 


1  mi:  jus  1()I<  V 


Tlic  cession  ot"  J^ouisuiiiii  was  a  certain  guarantee 
of  the  luturc  greatness  of  the  United  States,  and  op- 
posed an  insurmountable  obstacle  to  any  design  formed 
by  the  Knglisli  of  becon»ing  predominant  in  America. 
They  afterwards  suj>posed  that  the  negotiations  for 
petice,  openc('i  at  (ilient,  offered  tlieni  the  means  of  re- 
covering the  advantages  that  they  had  lost.  Their  ple- 
nipotentiaries renewed  their  pretensions  to  a  free  na- 
vigation of  the  Mississippi.  They  demanded,  as  a  aw 
(jua  tioii^  that  a  neutral  Indian  district  should  be  taken 
from  the  territory  of  the  United  States  for  the  purpos-c 
of  separating  the  contracting  powers  by  limits,  within 
which  all  acquisition  of  the  lands  of  the  Indians  should 
be  prohibited;  and  their  declarations  on  this  subject 
were  announced  as  irrevocable.  It  was  even  reported 
that  they  would  re(juire  that  i^ouisiana  should  be  re- 
stored to  Spain.*  I5ut  no  mention  olso  strange  a  pre- 
tension was  made  at  the  conferences  at  Ghent. 

The  charter  given  by  Louis  XIV.  to  Crozat  in- 
cluded all  the  countries  watered  by  the  rivers,  wliicli 
empty  directly  or  indirectly  into  the  Mississippi.  Witli- 
in  this  description  comes  the  Missouri,  a  river  that  has 
its  sources  and  many  of  its  tributary  streams  at  a  little 
distance  from  the  Rocky  Mountains.  The  1st  article 
of  the  treaty  of  cession  to  the  United  States  meant  to 
convey  nothing  beyond  them,  but  the  settlement  in  the 
interior,  which  has  resulted  from  it,  and  the  one  on  the 


*  liCttcrs  of  Mr.  jNloiiroc  to  Ihc  miuislors  plenipotentiary  of  tl'.e 
United  Stales,  cf  25th  June,  1811.  and  19tli  August,  IBl.t. 


or  LOU  IS  I  \N  A. 


2\n 


Pacific  Ocean,  at  the  west,  have  muliially  sticngtliened 
each  other. 

The  acquisition  of  Louisiana  and  of  tlie  Floridas. 
together  with  the  extinction  of  some  grants  or  Indian 
titles  has  cost  the  United  States  about  1  {)(),()0l),()()() 
francs:  the  land  that  has  been  acquired  contains  more 
than  300,()()(),00()  acres,  of  which  only  18,000,000  have 
been  sold.*  Wiiat  yet  remains  t^  be  sold  will,  in  less 
than  a  century,  be  worth  to  the  United  Stales  many 
thousand  millions  of  francs:  the  value  that  these  lands 
will  possess,  in  the  hands  of  individuals,  defies  all  cal- 
culation. 

The  cession  was  followed  by  judicious  and  bold  ex- 
plorations, made  by  order  of  congress,  as  well  as  by 
travellers  and  traders  who  arrived  at  the  shores  of  the 
Western  Ocean,  after  havinnf  crossed  a  country  until 
then  unknown  to  civilized  nations.  They  found  hos- 
pitable and  pacific  tribes,  and  were  only  opposed  by 
natural  obstacles.  These  regions  are  of  greater  ex- 
tent than  the  whole  original  states  of  the  Union.  There 
is  room  there  for  numerous  republics,  and  centuries  may 
pass  away  before  population  and  civilization  are  there 
carried  to  the  highest  point  of  which  they  are  suscepti- 
ble. It  would  be  idle  to  inquire  respecting  the  form  of 
government  that  will  be  adopted  by  these  communities, 
or  the  bonds  that  will  connect  them  with  one  another 
or  with  a  parent  state.  It  is  sufficient  to  foresee  that 
fhose  that  shall  be  formed  upon  the  model  of  the 

*  i^ee  Appendix.  No.  30. — Tflw^r. 


M 


I 


ilil 

|m| 

['  fa.   IH^^Q 

^l{ii_0  flj 

,;;  :'?Ss| 

^  ■'»'■ 

|i  isffifl 

-hS 

^H 

i 

I^EI 

s 

'PVI| 

•>)(.> 


1  hi:  fiisioKv 


m 


Sij 


L'nited  Stulc i  will  ccitaiuly  be  happy,  and  that  tlie  new 
world  will  witness  what  the  old  world  has  never  seen;— 
communities  ibnndcd  for  the  benefit  of  all  their  mem- 
bers, and  not  lor  that  of  their  founders,  or  to  augment 
their  riches,  increase  their  jjowcr,  or  administer  to 
their  vain  glory.  Even  if  the  new  states  separate 
from  the  confederacy,  they  will  remain  united  by  the 
protecting  laws  of  peace,  and  by  every  thing  that  se- 
cures the  public  happiness. 

By  the  2d  article,  '•  all  public  lots  and  squares,  vacant 
lands,  and  all  public  buildings,  fortifications,  barracks, 
and  other  edifices  that  were  not  private  property  were 
mcluded  in  the  cession.  The  archives,  papers,  and 
documents  relative  to  the  domain  and  sovereignty  ol 
Louisiana  and  its  dependencies,  were  to  be  left  in  the 
possession  of  the  commissioners  of  the  United  State:;. 
and  copies  were  afterwards  to  be  given  in  due  form  to 
the  magistrates  and  municipal  officers,  of  such  of  the 
said  papers  and  documents  as  might  be  necessary  to 
them." 

The  plenipotentiaries,  being  all  three  plebeians,  easi- 
ly agreed  on  the  stipulations  of  the  3d  article,  founded 
on  a  perfect  equality  between  all  the  inhabitants  of  the 
ceded  territories. 

It  provided,  "that  they  should  be  incorporated  in  the 
Union  of  the  United  States,  and  admitted  as  soon  as 
possible,  according  to  the  principles  of  the  federal  con- 
stitution, to  the  enjoyment  of  all  the  rights,  advan- 
tages, and  immunities  of  citizens  of  the  United  States: 
and,  that  they  should  in  the  meantime,  be  maintained 


OF   LOUISIANA- 


293 


uid  protected  in  the  Irce  enjoyment  of  their  liberty, 
property,  and  the  religion  which  they  profess." 

These  provisions  prepared  the  way  for  a  great 
change  in  the  constitution  of  J^ouisiana,  or  rather  gua- 
rantied to  it  the  advantage  of  having  at  length  a  con- 
stitution, laws,  and  self-government.  There  was  not  a 
•ingle  family  in  the  colony  but  must  profit  sooner  or 
later  by  this  revolution. 

The  first  consul,  left  to  his  natural  disposition,  was 
always  inclined  to  an  elevated  and  generous  justice. 
He  himself  prepared  the  article  which  has  been  just 
recited.  The  words  which  he  employed  on  the  occa- 
«ion  are  recorded  in  the  journal  of  the  negotiation, 
and  deserve  to  be  preserved.  "  Let  the  Louisianians 
know  that  we  separate  ourselves  from  them  with 
regret;  that  we  stipulate  in  their  favour  every  thing 
that  they  can  desire,  and  let  them  hereafter,  happy  in 
their  indeperdenre,  recollect  that  they  have  been 
Frenchmen,  and  that  France,  in  ceding  them,  has  se- 
cured for  them  advantages  which  they  could  not  have 
obtained  from  a  European  power,  however  paternal  it 
miwht  have  been.  Let  them  retain  for  us  sentiments 
of  affection;  and  may  their  common  origin,  descent, 
language,  and  customs  perpetuate  the  friendship.*' 

The  character  of  the  Indians  was  well  known  to  the 
negotiators.  The  efforts  that  had  been  made,  and  the 
expenses  that  had  been  incurred  for  three  centuries  have 
not  effected  any  change  in  the  habits  of  these  tribes ; 
but  they  obstinately  avoid  civilization.  Far  from 
loving  their  country,  as  some  writers  have  pretended. 


I 


It 
If 


""•^11.4,: 


■^•llf  li  ■ 


291 


rilF-  HISTORY 


i 


\m 


they  abandon  their  native  soil  without  much  resistance, 
as  soon  as  the  white  men  settle  in  their  neighbour- 
hood. They  prefer  their  own  dispersion,  and  even 
annihilation  to  the  meliorations  which  would  impose 
restraints  on  them  or  sul)joct  them  to  labour;  but  they 
do  not  like  to  be  despoiled  by  force. 

These  Indians  whom  we  treat  as  barbarians  and  sa- 
vages, when  they  defend  their  lakes,  their  rivers,  and 
their  forests,  whom  we  reproach  with  perfidy,  when 
they  oppose  stratagem  and  cunning  to  tactics  and  su- 
perior arms,  have  sometimes  been  our  friends.  But 
they  treated  us  as  enemies  or  usurpers  when  we  came 
to  disturb  their  peaceable  possessions.  When  tlicy 
were  encouraged  by  better  treatment,  they  called  the 
king  of  France  their  father,  and  this  title  among  them 
carries  with  it  even  more  authority  than  that  of  king, 
These  tribes,  always  children,  require  to  be  paternally 
governed.  They  preferred  the  French  to  other  nations. 
and  willingly  adopted  them  into  their  tribes.  Though 
ever  ready  to  use  freely  whatever  in  our  huts  and 
houses  suited  their  convenience,  or  to  appropriate  it  to 
themselves,  they  were  submissive  to  our  orders.  They 
were  well  inclined  to  render  us  services,  and  even  as 
warriors  to  unite  their  arms  with  ours. 

Many  of  the  treaties  concluded  between  the  powers 
of  Europe  since  the  discovery  of  America  dispose  ol 
the  territories  of  the  Indian  nations  without  any  reserve 
of  their  rights.  More  attention  was  this  time  paid  to 
the  interests  of  these  tribes.  The  treaty  of  cession  se- 
parated us  from  them  for  ever.    The  ilu*ee  negotiator? 


OF  LOUISIANA. 


295 


regarded  them  as  an  innocent  people,  who,  without 
]iavin«,r  any  participation  in  the  cession,  were  to  be  in- 
cluded in  it. 

By  tlic  6tli  article,  ••  Tiic  United  States  promise  to 
execute  such  treaties  and  articles  as  may  have  been 
agreed  on  between  Spain  and  the  tribes  or  nations  of 
Indians."  "  This  stipulation,"  Mr.  Monroe  observed. 
••  becomes  us,  though  these  people  must  be  ibr  ever  ig- 
norant of  the  care  that  we  take  of  their  interests." 

This  article  prepared  the  good  understanding  that 
now  exists  between  the  Indians  and  the  United  States. 
Tiiey  are  treated  with  humanity:  it  is  wished,  it  is  true, 
to  remove  them  from  the  settled  parts  of  the  country, 
a  plan  which  is  resisted  by  some  of  the  tribes.  The 
Cherokees  have  even  given  themselves  a  constitution, 
which  appears  to  have  been  dictated  by  some  whites 
settled  among  them.*  This  phantom  of  a  government 
has  not  seemed  to  deserve  much  attention.  The  inter- 
mixture with  the  whites  has,  however,  introduced  into 
the  tribe  the  first  elements  of  civilization. 

The  7th  article  contained  a  reserve  which  was  then 
deemed  important  for  the  commerce  of  France  and 
Spain,  namely;  "the  privilege  of  bringing  in  French 
or  Spanish  vessels  from  the  ports  of  those  two  king- 
doms or  of  their  colonies,  into  the  ports  of  Louisiana,  the 
produce  or  manufactures  of  those  countries  or  of  their 
colonies,  during  the  space  of  twelve  years,  without  be- 
ing subjected  to  any  other  or  greater  duties  than  those 
paid  by  the  citizens  of  the  United  States." 

-  .lulv  ibi,  18.:: 


II 


iKtj 


290 


THK  HISTORY 


m  -rm 


Tlic  commerce  of  the  colony  had  been  to  that  time 
almost  exclusively  carried  on  by  the  French  under  the 
Spanish  flag.  The  7th  article  would  have  preserved 
this  advantage  to  France,  if  the  peace  of  Amiens  had 
not  been  broken  at  the  same  time  that  the  treaty  of  ce?- 
sion  was  signed.  The  war  lasted  nearly  twelve  ycaiN 
during  which  period  this  trade  passed  into  the  hand; 
of  the  English  and  Americans:  and  the  loss  of  St.  Do- 
mingo put  the  seal  to  the  separation.  It  is  not  be- 
lieved that  a  single  French  ship  profited  by  the  provi- 
sions of  this  article. 

The  8th  article,  which  secures  to  French  ships  the 
treatment  of  the  most  favoured  nation,  has  given  rise 
to  discussions,  the  result  of  which  wc  ought  not  to  an- 
ticipate.* 

*  "  Ar^  8.  In  future,  and  for  ever  alter  the  expiration  of  tin 
twelve  jears,  the  sliips  of  France  shall  be  treated  on  the  footin^f  ol 
the  most  favoured  nations  in  the  ports  abov  mentioned." 

By  an  act  of  congress  of  March  3,  1815,  the  several  acts  ini 
posing  discriminating  duties  on  the  tonnage  of  foreign  vessels,  and 
on  the  goods,  &c.  imported  therein,  so  far  as  they  were  the  pro- 
duce or  manufacture  of  the  nation  to  which  such  foreign  vessel  be- 
longed, were  repealed  in  favour  of  such  nations  as  should  not  lev\ 
a  discriminating  or  countervailing  duty  to  tiie  prejudice  of  tlu' 
United  States. 

Conventions,  in  compliance  with  the  overtures  thus  made,  wen 
early  concluded  witii  Great  Britain  and  Sweden,  and  arrange- 
ments by  mutual  legislation  were  entered  into  with  other  states: 
several  of  which  have  been  recently  confirmed  by  treaty.  France. 
however,  did  not  immediately  accede  to  these  propositions  of  reci- 
procity; but  began  to  maintain  in  1817,  and  has  ever  since  conti- 
nued to  assert,  that  she  was  entitled  to  enjoy  gratuitously  in  the 
ports  of  Louisiana  all  the  privileges  which  the  vessels  of  Englaml. 
whom  she  considered  as  ffip  imhif  favnurrd  nation,  possessed  (lieiv 
under  the  treaty  of  commerce,  and  for  which  an  c(|uivalent  ^\''- 


OF  LOUISIANA. 


297 


Sucli  are  the  principal  stipulations  of  the  treaty  of 
cession.* 

The  contracting  parties  would  have  dosircil  that 
Spain  should  join  in  this  nc<rotiation;  and,  as  this  power 
had  reserved,  by  the  treaty  of  the  1  st  of  October,  1  {JOO,  a 
rigiit  of  preference,  in  case  of  cession,  its  previous  as- 
;ont  was  undoubtedly  necessary.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  least  delay  was  attended  with  very  many  dangers; 
and  the  distance  from  Paris  to  Madrid,  with  the  usual 

\)m\.  It  was  ui'gcd,  in  reply  to  (lie  dotnaiuls  of  Fiance,  that  she 
daitiviil  to  enjoy  a  privileiro  witliout  fulfilliiii^  tlie  condition  on 
which  it  was  jrianted.  She  asked  to  be  treated  not  as  liivourably, 
but  more  favourably  than  the  nation  she  called  most  lavoiired. 
"The  stipulation.""  said  the  American  secretary  of  state,  "to 
place  a  country  on  the  footini^  of  the  most  favoured  nations,  neces- 
sarily meant,  that,  if  a  privilege  was  <;;ranted  to  a  third  nation  for 
an  c(|uivalent,  that  equivalent  must  be  given  by  the  country  which 
claimed  the  same  privilege  by  virtue  of  such  stipulation." 

The  practical  importance  of  this  question  has  been  greatly  di- 
minished by  the  treaty  of  182x1,  by  the  operation  of  which  all  the 
discriminating  duties  upon  the  vessels  of  the  United  States  and 
France,  in  either  country,  ceased  on  the  1st  of  October,  1827.  By 
a  separate  article,  also  attached  to  that  convention,  the  extra  du- 
ties, levied  exclusively  on  French  vessels  by  the  act  of  the  loth  of 
May.  1S2(),  as  well  as  those  imposed  on  American  vessels  by  a 
French  orclnnnance  of  the  same  year,  were  directed  to  be  refunded. 

But,  the  geneial  discriminating  duties  on  foreign  vessels,  which 
were  demanded  from  those  of  France  in  the  ports  of  Louisiana,  as 
ill  the  rest  of  the  Union,  anterior  to  the  treaty  of  commerce,  are 
still  brought  forward  as  a  barrier  to  the  settlement  of  American 
claims  for  s])oliations  and  sei/.ures  under  the  im[)erial  government. 
These  reclamations,  besides  the  cases  arising  from  con>!emnations 
under  illegal  decrees  against  neutral  commerce  and  the  burning  of 
ships  at  sea,  include  large  demands  for  property  sequestered  in  the 
ports  of  France  ami  provisionally  sold,  respecting  which  no  adju- 
dication has  ever  taken  place.  —  Thansl. 

•  Appendix,  No.  1. 

3vS 


III 


'*1^4r 


h'i:^4 


m 


0i^ 


'2[)li 


riiK  lii-^ioio 


tarflincss  in  the  deliberations  of  that  cabinet,  would 
have  led  to  a  total  fuiliire  of  the  negotiation.  'I'lio 
treaty  was  therefore  not  eonununicatcd  to  the  .S|)ani,>l) 
nnnistry  till  after  its  conclusion.  They  complained  bit 
tcrly  of  the  little  regard  that  had  been  paid  to  a  riglii 
that  was  iiicontestably  reserved  to  Spain,  and  for  near- 
ly a  year  it  was  impossible  to  obtain  from  that  com' 
an  approbation  of  the  treaty.  Its  complaints  were  will 
grounded.  It  was  only  on  the  lOtli  of  February,  1804. 
that  Don  Pedro  Cevallos  wrote  to  Mr.  Pinckncy,  mi- 
nister of  the  United  States,  '•  that  His  Catholic  Ma- 
jesty had  thought  fit  to  renounce  his  opposition  to  the 
alienation  of  I  Louisiana,  made  by  France,  notwith- 
standing the  solid  reasons  on  which  it  is  fouiulod; 
thereby  giving  a  new  proof  of  his  benevolence  and 
friendship  to  the  United  States.*' 

The  draft, 'vhich  the  American  plenipotentiaries  had 
at  first  proposed,  contained  an  article,  according  to 
which  the  first  consul  was  to  interpose  his  good  otiiccs 
with  the  king  of  Spain,  in  order  to  obtain  the  cession 
of  the  country  situated  to  '•k'^  east  of  the  Mississippi. 
and  in  the  neighbourhoc  1  of  their  southern  frontier. 
These  stipulations  of  good  offices  are  not  rare  in  trea- 
ties, but  their  execution  is  almost  always  attended  with 
embarrassments;  anJ  tiie  French  negotiator  induced 
the  Americans  to  be  satisfied  with  the  assurance,  that. 
should  the  occasion  arise,  the  first  consid  would  alloid 
them  all  the  assistance  in  his  power. 

Spain  had  manifested,  on  several  occasions,  lici 
dread  of  having  the  United  States  in  the  imni»  di.iti 


Oh    l.Ol  IsIANA.  2i)U 

iiciglibourhood  of  licr  continental  or  njsular  colonics. 
M.'irbois  commnnicatcd  to  the  AuKMican  ministers  the 
apprehensions  of  this  |.»owcr,  and  added  that  a  jj^reat 
many  pohticians  were  also  alarmed  for  the  Trencli 
West  Indies,  as  they  concr  ved  that  sooner  or  later 
the  United  States  would  aim  at  their  possession,  and, 
liiially,  conquer  them,  liivinirston  said,  in  reply; — 
"Mark  well  the  answer  that  I  am  goinjij  to  <^\\'c  you;  1 
believe  that  I  can  assure  you  that  it  will  be  conlirnicd 
by  the  event.  The  Trench  West  fndies  are  Ijir  from 
aspiring  to  an  independence  which  would  soon  |)ut  the 
European  inhabitants,  who  are  not  numerous  enough 
to  sustain  themselves,  in  the  power  oi"  the  slave  popu- 
lation. The  whites  require  to  be  governed,  protected, 
iiid  defended  against  this  internal  enemy;  but  it  would 
be  contrary  to  our  institutions  and  even  om*  interests 
to  undertake  this  charge.  The  principal  trade  of  these 
islands  will  sooner  or  later  belouLj  to  us  on  account  of 
our  proximity,  and  all  the  prudence  of  the  European 
governments  will  not  retard  this  change  half  a  centu- 
ry. Should  these  colonies  hereafter  wish  to  belong  to 
us  and  to  enter  into  the  Union,  we  could  not  receive 
them;  we  could  still  less  have  them  as  dependent  and 
subject  possessions.  I  do  not  foresee  what  will  hap- 
pen if,  in  their  emergencies,  they  should  resort  to  our 
generosity  and  pro  i.-ction.  But  do  not  fear  that  we 
shall  ever  make  the  conquest  of  that  which  we  would 
not  wish  to  accept  even  as  a  gift." 

Two  important  conventions,  signed  the  same  day, 
n'cre  annexed  to  the  Ueaty  as  well  as  referred  to  in  it. 


ii''iii 


I'ifl 


3U0 


nil:  III.'?  mio 


in  order  that  tliov  iui<^lit  have  tijo  yiuno  lorcc  and  iM- 
fect  as  if  tlicy  had  been  inserted  in  terms. 

The  first  rehited  to  tlie  paynient  ot"  the  price  of  tlit 
cession.  This  instrument  was  made  Ke|)arately  lium 
the  treaty,  as  some  embarrassment  was  felt  in  mention- 
ing, at  tlic  same  time,  tlie  aban(h)nment  of  tlie  eminent 
right  of  sovereignty  and  ll>e  sal<^  for  money  of  the  pro- 
perty of  the  territory. 

The  necessity  of  tlie  cession  bein^  acliiiowlodffcd. 
it  was  easy  to  justify  the  conditions.  Tlic  motivo- 
which  determined  tliem  liad  been  pointed  out  by  tlu 
first  consul  himself,  and  we  will  refer  to  them  here. 

For  a  century  the  settlement  and  government  ol 
Louisiana  had  required  from  France  and  Sjjain  ad- 
vances, for  which  they  had  never  been  indemnified  In 
the  commercial  imposts.  The  churches,  the  forts  upon 
both  banks  of  the  Mississippi,  as  well  as  many  otiioi 
public  buildings,  had  been  erected  at  the  o.\j)ensc  of  tlir 
two  powers.  There  were  also  there  magazines  and 
arsenals;  funds  had  been  advanced  to  commerce  and 
agriculture;  a  great  many  other  expenses,  having  in  view 
the  benefit  of  the  colony,  had  likewise  been  incurred. 
The  acts  of  cession,  made  to  .Spsi'i  in  1701,  contained 
provisions  respecting  the  moveable  property.  Wc  find 
the  following  passages  in  a  lettor  of  the  21st  of  April. 
1764,  from  Louis  XV.  to  M.  D'Abadie:  "It  is  my  par- 
ticular desire  that  an  inventory,  in  duplicate,  should  br 
signed  by  you  and  the  commissioner  of  His  Cathollr 
Majesty  of  all  the  artillery  and  other  military  stores 
magazines,  hospitals,  ships,  <S:c.  which  belong  to  nic  in 


UK   l,UJ  InIA.Na. 


M)\ 


the  said  colony,  m  order  lliat,  al'ter  liavmn  put  the  said 
conimissionor  in  possession  of  tlic  ships  and  bnildinjjfs, 
a  sialcmrnt   may  1x3   prepared  of  llie  value  of  all  the 
articles  tiiat  shall  remain  thcrt;,  the  price  of  which 
shall  be  reimbursed  by  His  Catholic  Majesty,  accord- 
ing to  the  said  estimate."     The  same  reindiursement 
IS  required  in  a  letter  written  on  the  ir^lh  of  October, 
1802,  by  the  k\ufjr  of  Spain  to  the  captain  <^eneraK  to 
order  him  to  deliver  up  the  province  of  Louisiana  to 
the  commissioiHM'  of  the  rrench  jfoverrnnent.     TIk^so 
reservations  were,  it  must  l)c  admitted,  of  little  coiise- 
qaencc,  and  were  njoreover  merely  formal  stipulations. 
But  the  first  consul  regarded  in  another  point  of  view 
the  condition  of  the  price.     Though  this  valuation  in 
money  of  a  right  of  sovereignty,  formerly  so  familiar 
to  the  princes  of  Europe,  was  a  necessary  clause  of 
the  bargain,  he  wished  at  least  that  it  should  never  be 
a  charge  on  the  country  ceded.     'I'lie  j)rice,  whatever 
it  might  be,  could  not  be  stipulated   for  an  advantage 
such  as  that  of  independence,  the  lustre  of  which  it 
would  have  tarnished.     'J'hc  amount  was  paid  by  the 
United  States  not  exclusively,  as  in  the  case  of  pre- 
vious cessions  and  retrocessions,  for  moveable  effects, 
but  as  the  price  of  vast  territories  which  they  acquired, 
and  of  the  great  augmentation  of  power  which  would 
result  from  them  to  the  Union  in  general.   The  cession 
made  France  lose  nothing,  and  it  possessed  great  ad- 
vantages for  the  United  States. 

The  first  consul,  supposing  that  lie  carried  his  valu- 
ation very  bigh,  had  said  tliat  lie  calculated  on  fifty 


jkj^ 


>"!"*|l 


"•lW; 


■f'l 


.Jl)2 


I'HK  HISTORV 


millions.  Tiie  French  |)lcnipotentiary,  without  ciitci- 
ing  into  any  explanation  with  him,  considered  this  cri- 
timate  a  good  deal  too  low,  and,  as  soon  as  the  price 
became  the  subject  of  conference,  stated  that  it  was 
fixed  at  eighty  millions,  and  that  it  would  be  useless  to 
propose  a  reduction.* 

The  American  plenipotentiaries  could  not  have  fore- 
seen that  the  negotiation,  which  their  government  had 
intrusted  to  them,  would  become  so  important,  and 
they  were  without  special  powers  to  consent  to  pay 
the  price  that  was  demanded.  "  Our  fellow-citizens." 
said  Mr.  Livinsfston,  •'  have  an  extreme  aversion  to 
public  debts;  how  could  we,  without  incurring  their 
displeasure,  burden  them  with  the  enormous  charge 
of  fifteen  millions  of  dollars.'^'" 

IVl.  dc  Marbois,  on  his  part,  insisted  upon  the  first 
demand  of  eighty  millions,  and  said,  that  for  the  United 
St" '.as,  this  was  a  sum  very  much  below  the  true  value 
of  these  immense  territories.  The  negotiators  them- 
selves were  but  very  imperfectly  acquainted  with  them: 
but  they  knew  that,  on  passing  to  the  right  bank  of  the 
Mississippi,  the  Americans  would  find  unknown  tribc:^. 
or  a  wilderness  that  had  never  yet  tempted  the  ambi- 
tion or  cupidity  of  any  fluropean  nation,  which  culti- 
vation could  not  fail  to  enrich,  and  which  would  be 
gradually  annexed  to  the  territory  of  the  Union.  These 
adventitious  domains  would  possess  the  peculiar  ad- 
vantage of  acquiring  eveiy  day  greater  importance  and 
a  higher  value,  without  any  other  attention  on  the  par* 

*  Appemlix.  No.  15. 


>*«-*■:;! 


of   r.OLiSI  V.NA, 


a03 


of  tlic  sovereign  power  than  that  of  directing  tiieir  ex- 
ploration and  survCj. 

The  two  plenipotentiaries  finally  acquiesced,*  on 
condition  that  twenty  millions  out  of"  the  eighty  should 
be  employed  in  a  manner  settled  by  a  special  conven- 
tion. This  became  the  third  instrument  of"  the  nciio- 
tiation,  and  we  will  here  enter  into  some  explanations 
relative  to  the  origin  of  the  claim  for  which  it  provided. 

The  convention  of  the  30th  of  September,  1800,  had 
lor  its  object  the  securing  of  reciprocal  satisfaction  to 
the  citizens  of  the  two  states,  and  the  preventing  as 
far  as  possible  of  any  thing  that  could  for  the  future 
aflcct  their  good  understanding.  We  there  find  the 
principle,  the  wisdom  and  ICj^ality  of  which  only  one  na- 
tion in  the  world  disputes:  "that  free  ships  make  free 
goods,  although  they  are  the  property  of  an  enemy." 

A  special  j)romise  had  been  given  to  pay  the  debts 
arising  from  requisitions,  seizures,  and  captures  of  ships 
made  hi  time  of  peace;  but  the  execution  of  the  agree- 
ment had  not  followed  the  treaty.  For  two  years  and 
a  half  the  minister  of  the  United  States  had  been  re- 
iterating his  reclamation  and  demanding  in  vain  the  re- 
paration of  these  losses.t 

'  Appendix,  No.  '2. 

t  Between  1793  and  1800  serious  injuries  had  boon  inllicted  on 
our  commerce  by  the  capture  and  confiscation  of  our  vessels  by 
France,  in  violation  of  the  law  of  nations  and  existitiu;  treaties. 
Losses  had  also  been  sustained  by  our  merchants  Irom  embargoes, 
and  I'rom  the  neglect  of  the  dilVerent  revolutionary  governments  to 
i.omply  with  their  contracts,  many  of  which  arose  from  forced  re- 
'luisitions  for  supplies. 

These,  claims,  the  justice  of  some  ol  which,  ali^tractedly  con<i- 


•4m 


.V'^il 


Mi 


THK  HISTOKV 


The  cession  o<'  LouisiLina  allbrdcd  tlie  means  of  re- 
alizing promises  tliat  had  been  so  long  illusory.     The 

deri'd,  was  not  lionicd,  were  icsistod  on  tlio  jrround  of  tlie  f;iiluiv 
of  the  rnited  States  to  comply  nitlj  the  j!;uiirantoo  of  tin;  Frunch 
possessions  in  America,  contained  in  the  treaty  of  1778,  and  with 
the  provisions  of  the  consular  convention  of  1788.  The  retaliatory 
measures  of  tlie  Atm'rican  government  in  aiithoriy.in«>;  the  caiituic 
of  vessels  of  war,  belonu;in<^  to  France,  hovering  on  our  coasts,  ami 
in  repealint!;  the  treaty  of  alliance  had  also,  since  1798,  interposed 
additional  obstacles  to  the  payment  of  indemnities. 

Of  the  means  taken  to  procure  redress,  anterior  to  the  mission 
of  Messrs.  KUsworth,  Davie,  and  Murray,  it  is  not  necessary  liere 
to  spf;ak.  liy  a  convention,  which  the»o  j^entlemen  signed  with 
tlie  Frencli  plenipotentiaries  on  the  .lUth  of  September,  1800,  ii 
was  declared, — 

'■'  Art.  ^2.  The  ministers  jdenipotentiary  of  t'.e  two  parties  not 
being  able  to  agree  at  present  respecting  tlie  treaty  of  alliance  ut 
the  6lh  of  February.  1778,  the  treaty  of  amity  and  commerce  ot 
the  sau\e  date,  and  the  convention  of  tlie  Ntli  of  November,  1788, 
nor  upon  tlie  indemnities  mutually  due  or  claimed;  the  parties  will 
negotiate  farther  on  the.•^e  sul>jects  at  a  convenient  time,  and  until 
they  may  have  agreed  upon  these  points,  the  said  treaties  and  con- 
vention shall  have  no  operation,  and  the  relations  of  the  two  coun- 
tries sl\all  be  regulated  as  follows:" 

By  the  3d  article,  the  public  ships  that  had  been  captured  were 
to  be  mutually  restoretl. 

"  ArK  4.  Property  captured  and  not  yet  definitely  condemned, 
or  which  may  be  captured  before  the  exchange  of  ratifications  {con- 
traband goods  destined  to  an  eneinv's  port  excepted.)  shall  be  nui- 
tuallv  restored  on  the  following  proofs  of  ouller^hip,  &.c." 

*■'  Art.  .'i.  TIh'  debts  contracted  by  one  of  the  two  nations  ■  "ith 
individuals  of  the  other,  or  by  the  iiulividmils  of  the  one  with  the 
individuaU  of  the  ol'-er,  shall  be  paid,  or  the  payment  n)ay  be  pro- 
secuted in  the  s'.ime  manner  as  if  there  hati  been  no  mis-;un(kT»tand- 
in'x  between  the  two  state:..  Mut  this  clause  sh.ll  not  extend  to  in- 
demnities daimeil  on  aciount  of  captuies  or  confiscations." 

The  senate  of  the  Tnited  States,  on  the  convention  being  sub- 
mitted to  them,  exj)unged  the  secoml  article,  and  the  first  consul, 
on  giving  his  ratification,  assented  to  the  retrenchment,  on  condi- 
tion 'Mhat  the  two  states  should  renounce  the  respective  preten 


OF  LOUISIANA. 


305 


Americans  consented  to  pay  eighty  millions  of  francs 
Gi  condition  that  twenty  n  ilions  of  this  sum  should 

sions  which  are  the  object  of  the  saiil  article."  After  these  condi- 
tional ratifications  and  their  exchange,  President  Jefferson  submitted 
the  convention  anew  to  the  senate,  who  resolved  that  they  consi- 
dered it  as  fully  ratified. 

The  French  govcrnmcn*^  failed  to  comply  with  their  engagements 
under  the  4th  and  5th  artic'es,  though  repeatedly  urged  to  do  so  by 
the  United  States,  and  a  discussion  took  place  between  the  Ameri- 
can minister  in  Paris  and  the  French  minister  of  foreign  affairs, 
which  was  not  terminated  when  the  Louisiana  treaty  was  negotiated, 
as  to  the  extent  to  which  the  5th  article  applied. 

Notwithstanding  the  mutual  abandonment  of  the  claims  forming 
the  object  of  the  2d  article  of  the  treaty  of  I  "00.  the  third  con- 
vention of  the  30th  of  April,  1803,  purpnits  to  be  expressly  found- 
ed on  the  2d  and  5th  articles  of  that  of  the  30th  of  September, 
1800;  but  the  provision  which  it  makes  for  the  liquidation  of  claims 
does  not  embrace  all  the  cases  falling  within  the  purview  of  either 
article.  The  specifications  of  the  debts,  included  by  it,  are  given 
ill  the  following  words: — 

"  Art.  2.  The  debts  provided  for,  &,c.,  are  those  whose  result  is 
comprised  in  the  conjectural  note  annexed  to  the  present  conven- 
tion, and  which,  with  the  interest,  cannot  exceed  the  sum  of  twe.-* 
ty  millions  of  francs.  The  claims  comprised  in  the  said  note, 
which  fall  within  the  exceptions  of  the  following  articles,  shall  not 
be  admitted  to  the  benefit  of  this  provision."' 

"  Art.  4.  It  is  expressly  agreed  that  the  preceding  articles  shall 
comprehend  no  debts  but  such  as  are  due  to  citizens  of  the  United 
States,  who  have  been  and  arc  yet  creditors  of  France,  for  sup- 
plies, embargoes,  and  for  pri/.es  made  at  sea,  in  which  the  appeal 
has  been  properly  lodged  within  the  time  mentioned  in  the  said 
convention  of  the  8th  Vendemiaire,  tenth  year,  (30th  September, 
1800.)" 

Art.  5,  points  out  the  cases  to  which  the  preceding  articles  ap- 
ply, and  the  exceptions  to  them. 

The  terms  of  this  convention,  by  which  some  classes  of  cases 
were  totally  excluded,  while  others  having  no  greater  merit  were 
to  be  paid  in  fill,  with  interest,  met  with  a  very  unfavourable  re- 
ception ?X  Washington.  The  article  also,  which  required  every 
decision  to  be  made  within  a  year,  excluded  any  bonajidc  deaunds, 

39 


^ 


306 


IHL   HlhTOKV 


be  assigned  to  the  payment  of  what  was  due  by  France 
to  the  citizens  of  tlie  United  States. 

The  two  ministers  fixed  this  condition  of  an  indem- 
nity at  twenty  milhons  of  francs,  and  they  probably  ex- 

the  presentation  of  which  was  at  all  delayed,  and  there  was  no 
provision  for  an  apportionment  among  the  claimants,  confessedly 
within  the  meaning  of  the  treaty,  in  the  event  of  a  deficiency  of 
the  fund;  but  each  debt,  &c.  due  by  France  to  American  citizens 
was  to  be  satisfied  as  soon  as  it  was  certified  by  the  commission- 
ers, named  under  the  authority  of  the  convention. 

Mr.  Livingston,  the  then  minister  at  Paris,  was  instructed  to 
propose  the  extension  of  the  provisions  of  the  convention  of  180.) 
to  all  those  who  had  claims  under  that  of  1800,  but  were  not  in- 
cluded in  the  subsequent  treaty.  The  French  government  declined 
making  a  new  convention,  but  stated  that  if  the  liquidation  of 
the  claims  in  the  conjectural  note  should  not  absorb  the  twenty 
millions  of  francs,  the  residue  of  that  sum  might  be  employed  to 
satisfy  other  cases;  though  in  any  'ivent  the  whole  of  the  American 
claims  were  to  be  placed  to  the  account  of  the  federal  government. 
The  reclamations,  comprised  in  the  conjectural  list,  appears  to 
have  been  principally  for  supplies  received  by  the  French,  and  for 
losses  sustained  by  the  detection  of  ships  at  Bourdeaux,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  embargo  of  1793. 

Immediately  after  the  promulgation  of  the  convention  of  1800, 
accompanied  by  the  declaration  of  the  first  consul  as  to  the  eft'ect 
of  expunging  the  2d  article,  it  was  contended  by  those  who  had 
had  claims  on  France  for  captures  and  confiscations,  that  they  were 
entitled  to  look  to  their  own  country  for  indemnity,  inasmuch  as 
their  rights  had  been  renounced  for  a  release  of  the  guarantee  and 
other  valuable  considerations,  the  benefit  of  which  accrued  to  the 
nation  at  large.  These  demands  on  the  United  States  acquired 
new  force  from  the  transactions  connected  with  the  Louisiana  trea- 
ties. They  have  been  repeatedly  presented  to  congress,  M'itli  va- 
rious success  in  the  comnultees  to  whom  the  subject  was  referred, 
but  without  any  final  decision  on  tiem  in  either  house. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  add  that  the  claims,  which  are  referred 
to  in  this  note,  are  wholly  distinct  from  those  which  the  American 
government  has  been  pressing  for  many  years  on  the  attention  of 
France,  all  of  which  are  of  a  date  subsequent  to  the  convention  o! 
1800 — Tr\vsl. 


Of  LOMSIANA. 


30" 


pectod  that  they  would  bo  required  to  state  the  grounds 
of  this  estimate,  in  order  that  they  inigfit  be  discussed 
and  a  reduction  effected.  But  no  opposition  was  made, 
and  it  was  instantly  agreed  that  this  amount  should  be 
deducted  from  that  of  the  eighty  millions.  The  inten- 
tion of  extinguishing  all  former  claims  was  sincere  on 
both  sides.  The  roimd  sum  of  twenty  millions  was 
evidently  an  estimate  formed  on  reasonable  conjec- 
tures, and  could  not  be  an  absolute  result  established 
by  documents.  But  the  American  negotiators  agreed 
that  if  there  was  any  difference,  the  amount  rather 
exceeded  than  fell  short  of  the  claims,  and  the  F'rench 
plenipotentiary  gave  assurances  that  in  no  case  should 
this  excess  be  claimed  by  France-  Thus  the  respec- 
tive demands  were  easily  agreed  to.  A  mutual  frank- 
ness, which  smooths  all  the  difficulties  from  which  the 
most  simple  negotiations  are  not  always  exempt,  was 
the  only  address  employed  by  the  ministers  of  either 
party. 

The  manner  of  making  the  payment  at  first  present- 
ed some  difficulties:  it  seemed  natural  that  the  French 
treasury,  which  was  the  debtor, -should,  after  having 
acknowledged  its  debt,  acquit  it  with  the  twenty  mil- 
lions. On  the  other  hand,  the  American  creditors  be- 
ing better  known  in  their  own  country  than  they  could 
be  in  France,  the  disputes  among  the  claimants  might 
be  more  easily  settled  before  their  own  tribunals.  We 
must  add  that  the  liquidations  or  settlements  of  cre- 
dits, made  under  the  authority  of  the  French  govern- 
ment, did  not  then  inspire  entire  confidence.    It  ap- 


i 


AOH 


iiih  His'iDia 


peared  more  convenient  that  the  respective  govern- 
ments should  name  commissioners,  who  should  exa- 
mine each  particular  debt,  and  then  leave  the  payment 
to  be  afterwards  made,  in  America,  by  the  treasury  ol 
the  United  States. 

This  third  convention,  just  in  its  object,  was,  more- 
over, connected  with  the  treaty  of  cession  by  a  great 
political  interest,  which  was  to  destroy  every  cause  ol 
discontent  between  the  two  nations  and  extinguish  tiiat 
animosity  that  always  arises  from  the  refusal  to  acquit 
a  legitimate  debt.  The  time  sometimes  arrives  when 
a  nation  repents  not  having  seasonably  done  an  act  of 
justice,  which  costs  dearer  when  it  is  obliged  to  repair 
the  omission.  The  relations  of  amity  and  good  faitli, 
which  are  not  deferred  till  the  moment  of  danger,  lay 
the  foundation  of  lasting  confidence  between  nations. 
Those  who  were  well  aware  of  the  importance  of 
having  a  perfectly  good  understanding  between  the  two 
countries,  estimated  at  a  much  higher  price  the  twen- 
ty millions  thus  employed  than  the  sixty  that  w^ere  re- 
ceived by  the  treasury  of  France.* 

The  payment  of  this  last  sum  was  effected  in  a  man- 
ner which  deserves  to  be  mentioned.  The  war  be- 
tween France  and  England  could  be  no  longer  doubt- 
ful. No  French  banker  was  willing  to  become  the  me- 
dium of  so  considerable  a  pecuniary  transaction.  The 
bank  of  France,  to  which  the  proposal  was  made,  re- 
fused it,  under  the  pretext  that  such  affairs  were  not 
within  its  province,  and  probably,  also,  because  the  i\> 

*  Appendix,  No.  3. 


OF  LOLlsIANA. 


;iOi» 


gents  of  the  bank  were  afraid  of  rendering  it  depen- 
dent on  an  authority  that  vvawS  too  ready  to  interfere  in 
matters  of  which  a  reciprocal  confidence  ought  to  con- 
stitute the  basis. 

On  the  other  side,  the  American  ministers  were  very 
desirous  that  the  payments  should  be  made  through  the 
intervention  of  the  most  stable  house  in  Europe.  The 
partners  of  this  house  were  established  at  Amsterdam 
and  London.  Bankers  from  these  two  cities  did  not 
fail  to  be  at  Paris  at  the  appointed  day.  They  were 
eager  to  reap  the  profits  that  were  disdained  by  the 
French  bankers,  and  the  first  consul  perceived  no  in- 
convenience in  their  being  abandoned  to  thcni.  It  is 
believed  that,  on  its  part,  the  British  ministry,  not- 
withstanding the  certainty  of  war,  saw,  without  re- 
gret, an  English  house  undertake  so  profitable  a 
negotiation.  The  terms  agreed  on,  as  well  for  the 
payment  of  what  was  due  to  the  treasury  as  for  the  in- 
demnity to  the  American  merchants,  were  punctually 
observed.  The  United  States,  which  still  sustained 
the  weight  of  a  part  of  the  debts  contracted  during 
the  war  of  the  revolution,  were  only  incumbered  by  an 
addition  of  eighty  millions  of  francs  to  the  public  bur- 
dens; and  this  people,  whose  riches  arc  acquired  by 
industry  and  economy,  kept  their  engagements  with  a 
punctuality  that  would  have  done  honour  to  the  bank- 
ing house  in  the  highest  credit.  The  payments  were 
>o  have  been  made  at  successive  days;  but  the  United 
States  had  inspired  an  entire  confidence  in  their  good 
taith.  and  the  bankers  made  all  the  advances  that  were 


m 


**<>« 


m 


m 


Mi) 


THE  Hlii TORV 


asked  of  them  without  being  -rohcited  or  requiring  ex- 
traordinary profits,  and  they  undoubtedly  found  their 
own  advantage  in  tliis  evidence  of  confidence.* 

At  the  moment  of  signing  them,  the  Americans  asked 
that  the  three  instruments  should  be  drawn  up  in  French 
and  English.  They  admitted,  however,  that  it  was  im- 
possible to  have  two  original  texts  in  two  languages; 
it  was  declared,  adopting  the  form  with  which  the  trea- 
ties of  1778  concluded,  "that  the  original  had  been 
agreed  on  and  written  in  the  French  language."  The 
translation  required  three  days ;  and  from  this  incident 
it  happened  that  the  treaties,  which  were  concluded  on 
the  30th  of  April,  1 803,  and  are  dated  on  that  day, 
were  only  actually  signed  four  days  afterwards.  Two 
months  had  not  then  elapsed  since  Mr.  Monroe  had 
set  sail  from  New  York  to  proceed  to  Paris. 

The  authors  of  those  solemn  instruments,  that  re- 
gulate the  lot  of  nations,  cannot  be  insensible  to  tiic 
lionour  of  having  done  acts  useful  to  their  country. 
A  sentiment  superior  even  to  glory  seemed  to  animate 
the  three  ministers,  and  never  perhaps  did  negotiators 
taste  a  purer  joy.  As  soon  as  they  had  signed  the  trea- 
ties, they  rose  and  shook  hands,  when  Livingston,  ex- 
pressing the  general  satisfaction,  said:  "We  have  Hved 
long,  but  this  is  the  noblest  work  of  our  whole  lives. 
The  treaty  which  we  have  just  signed  has  not  been  ob- 
tained by  art  or  dictated  by  force;  equally  advantage- 
ous to  the  two  contracting  parties,  it  will  change  vast 

*  Messrs.  Hope  ami  Laboiuhcre  of  Amsterdam,  and  Barings  ot 
l^ondon. 


OF  I-OUISIANA. 


.311 


iiring  ex- 
ind  their 

• 

ins  asked 
n  French 
.  was  im- 
nguages; 
tlic  trea- 
lad  been 

3."      TllC 

incident 
;luded  on 
hat  day. 

s.  Two 
nroc  had 

that  re- 
e  to  the 
country, 
animate 
^otiators 
the  trea- 
ston,  ex- 
ave  hved 
ole  lives, 
been  ob- 
vantage- 
as 

Barinss  ot 


solitudes  into  flourishing  districts.  From  this  day  the 
United  States  take  their  place  among  the  powers  of 
the  first  rank;  the  English  lose  all  exclusive  influence 
in  the  affairs  of  America.  Thus  one  of  the  principal 
causes  of  European  rivalries  and  animosities  is  about 
to  cease.  However,  if  wars  are  inevitable,  France  will 
hereafter  have  in  the  new  world  a  natural  friend,  that 
must  increase  in  strength  from  year  to  year,  and  one 
which  cannot  fail  to  become  powerful  and  respected  in 
every  sea.  The  United  States  will  re-establish  the  ma- 
ritime rights  of  all  the  world,  which  are  now  usurped 
by  a  single  nation.  These  treaties  will  thus  be  a  gua- 
rantee of  peace  and  concord  among  commercial  states. 
The  instruments  which  we  have  just  signed  will  cause 
no  tears  to  be  shed :  they  prepare  ages  of  happiness 
for  innumerable  generations  of  human  creatures.  The 
Mississippi  and  Missouri  will  see  them  succeed  one 
another,  and  multiply,  truly  worthy  of  the  regard  and 
care  of  Providence,  in  the  bosom  of  equality,  under 
just  laws,  freed  from  the  errors  of  superstition  and  the 
scourges  of  bad  government." 

The  first  consul  had  followed  with  a  lively  interest 
the  progress  of  this  ncgr  ^iation.  It  will  be  recollect- 
ed that  he  had  mentiontii  fifty  millions  as  the  price 
which  he  would  put  on  the  cession;  and  it  may  well 
be  believed  that  he  did  not  expect  to  obtain  so  large  a 
sum.  He  learned  that  eighty  millions  had  been  agreed 
on;  but  that  they  were  reduced  to  sixty  by  the  deduc- 
tion stipulated  to  be  previously  made  for  the  settlement 


'■'■i 


Ml 


THE  HISTOKV 


of  the  debt  due  by  Franco  to  the  Americans.  Then 
forgetting,  or  feigning  to  forget,  the  consent  tliat  lie  had 
given,  he  said  with  vivacity  to  the  Frencli  minister:  '•! 
would  that  these  twenty  millions  be  paid  into  the  triu- 
sury.  Who  has  authorized  you  to  dispose  of  the  mo- 
ney of  the  state?  The  rights  of  the  claimants  cannot 
come  before  our  own."  This  first  excitement  \va< 
calmed  as  soon  as  he  was  brought  to  recollect  that  he 
had  previously  consented  to  treat  for  a  much  smaller 
sum  than  the  treasury  would  receive,  witho.t  including 
the  twenty  millions  of  indemnity  for  the  prizes.  "  It  i; 
true,"  he  exclaimed,  "  the  negotiation  does  not  leave 
me  any  thing  to  desire ;  sixty  millions  for  an  occupa- 
tion that  will  not  perhaps  last  but  a  day!  1  would  that 
France  should  enjoy  this  unexpected  capital,  and  that 
it  may  be  employed  in  works  beneticial  to  her  marine. " 
At  the  very  instant  he  dictated  a  decree  for  the  con- 
struction of  five  canals,  the  projects  of  which  iiad  oc- 
cupied him  for  some  time.  Hut  other  cares  made  him 
in  a  few  days  forget  this  decree.  The  negotiation. 
so  happily  terminated,  had  required  so  little  skill,  and 
had  been  attended  with  so  little  labour  that  the  profes- 
sions of  Napoleon's  satisfaction  would  be  deemed  ex- 
aggerated, if  history  stopped  at  these  details. 

The  following  words  sufficiently  acquaint  us  with 
the  reflections  that  then  influenced  the  first  consul: 
"  This  accession  of  territory,"  said  he,  "  strengthens 
for  ever  the  power  of  the  United  States;  and  I  have 
just  given  to  England  a  maritime  rival,  that  will  soonei 
or  later  humble  her  pride." 


OP  LOUISIANA. 


;h;j 


Fifteen  (lays  after  the  signature  of  the  t'oaties,  Mr. 
Monroe  set  out  for  London;  he  roniained  Jiere  a  con- 
siderable time  unsurcessfiilly  employed  iii  endeavour- 
ing to  settle  articles  of  navigation  and  neatrality. 

War  was  inevitable:  the  sixty  millions  were  spent  on 
the  preparations  for  an  invasion  that  was  never  to  be 
carried  into  eirect,  and  these  demonstrations  were  suf- 
ficient to  oblijjje  the  Enslish  government  to  make  de- 

e^  OCT 

fcnsive  arrangements  which  cost  a  nnich  greater  sum. 
The  arrival  of  iMr.  Monroe  at  Paris  had  attracted 
the  attention  of  the  Knglish  ambassador.  The  object 
of  this  envoy's  mission  was  not  known  at  1-iondon,  ex- 
cept from  the  purport  of  the  resolutions  of  congress. 
The  secret  of  the  conferences  was  well  kept,  and  Lord 
Whitworth  did  not  even  suspect  that  they  liad  for  their 
result  a  cession  of  all  Louisiana.  This  aflair  being 
terminated,  the  French  cabinet  ceased  to  temporize. 
The  British  government,  on  its  side,  considered  inde- 
cision out  of  season.  However,  the  respective  ambas- 
sadors, after  having  received  their  recall,  had  still  some 
communications  that  seemed  pacific.  On  the  1th  of 
May,  the  day  after  the  signature  of  the  treaty  of  ces- 
sion, and  four  davs  after  its  conclusion,  the  first  consul 
caused  a  note  to  be  sent  to  Lord  Whitworth,  in  which 
he  demanded  that  Malta  should  be  delivered  over  pro- 
visionally to  Austria,  Russia,  and  Prussia,  which  powers 
should  be  the  guarantees  of  the  independence  of  the 
island.  The  note  concluded  with  these  words :  '•  If  this 
proposal  is  rejected,  it  will  be  manifest  that  England 
has  never  wished  to  execute  the  treaty  of  Amiens, — 

•10 


fii 


M\ 


lilK  Ill-^IOKV 


Li 


that  she  has  not  ovou  liad  p:o()(l  faith  iit  any  of  her  do- 
niands.'' 

Kngland  only  |)ro|)Oh!cd  to  keep  Malta  during?  tlu> 
time  necessary  to  put  the  island  of  Lanipedousa  upon 
the  footinu;  of" a  naval  station:  but  she  wished  tliat 
France  should  hind  iicrself  hv  a  secret  article  not  to 
require  its  evacuation  before  the  end  of  ten  years,  and 
that  Switzerland  and  Holland  siiould  be  evacuated  a 
n'onth  after  the  ratification  of  the  convention.  Tlu 
knights,  assisted  by  all  the  powers  of  Christendom,  liad 
employed  two  centuries  and  a  half  to  fortify  Malta,  and 
the  English  had  made  themselves  masters  of  it  with- 
out cflbrt  and  without  expense.  The  lirst  consul  was 
heard  to  say  on  this  subject:  "-'rhey  will  never  restore 
that  island  except  by  .force,  were  it  even  reclaimed  by 
the  knights.''  From  thenceforward,  their  perseve- 
rance in  the  decision  to  keep  possession  of  this  sta- 
tion, authorized  the  presumjition  that  they  aspired  to 
the  same  dominion  in  the  Mediterranean  as  in  the  other 
seas,  and  that  they  aimed  at  ruling  there  more  abso- 
lutely th;m  any  of  the  states  that  occuj)y  its  shore-. 
Perhaps  readier  and  easier  comnmnications  with  India 
then  likewise  entered  into  the  designs  of  England. 

The  king  of  Great  Britain  also  demanded  for  the 
king  of  Sardinia  an  indemnity  in  Italy,  and,  on  the<( 
conditions,  he  consented  to  acknowledge  the  Italian 
and  Liguriau  republics. 

France,  in  rejecting  these  overtures,  ofl'ered  to  ac- 
cept the  mediation  proposed  by  Russia.  Tiicse  com- 
munications, in   appearance  pacific,  were   insincere: 


OK  l.OMSIAN  \. 


;n.) 


botli  sides  knew  lluit  llicy  \V(jiiI(I  not  l)c  Jic<:epl(Ml. 
The  negotiation  was  liroken  otV,  and  llie  iunhassadors 
quitted,  tlic  one  Trance,  the  other  Knuland.  on  tlic 
same  day,  the  17th  of  May,  I «():{. 

War  was  the  result  of  tlic  jealous  policy  and  pas- 
sion of  aggrandizement,  which  actuated  the  two  pow- 
ers. It  was  rekindled,  with  an  ardour  inspired,  on  the 
one  side,  by  the  necessity  of  self-preservation  and,  on 
the  other,  by  pride  leading  genius  astrjiy. 

In  Trance  were  to  be  seen  military  talents  of  the  high- 
est order,  a  boundless  capacity,  a  bold  character,  a  firm 
and  persevering  will,wliicii  presaged  long  and  hrilliant 
success.  These  fpialities  were,  however,  blended  with 
an  immoderate  passion  for  glory,  an  unbridled  ambi- 
tion, and  a  disregard  of  the  rights  of  others.  Some 
men,  whose  foresight  then  seemed  pusillanimous,  from 
that  time  dreaded  the  most  deplorable  catastrophes. 

In  England,  there  were  more  able  councils,  a  better 
regulated  state  of  affairs,  an  administration  friendly  to 
national  liberty,  strong  in  the  esteem  and  confidence 
of  tlie  people,  and  by  their  support  sui)erior  to  all  the 
factions.  At  the  same  time,  the  statesmen,  who  were  at 
the  head  of  the  British  'ouncils,  badly  dissembled  their 
determination  to  retain  the  direction  of  the  allairs  of 
Europe,  and  to  make  constant  acqeisitions  in  Asia  and 
America. 

Hostilities  commenced  on  the  22d  of  May  hy  the 
capture  of  some  Frencb  merchantmen.  On  the  same 
day  Bonaparte  gave  liis  ratification  to  the  treaty  of 
cession,  without  waiting  for  that  of  the  United  States. 


im 


11^  m 


316 


THE  HISTORV   OF  LOUISIANA. 


It  was  important  that  the  accomphshment  ol'  this  ibr- 
mahty,  on  the  part  ol'  France,  should  not  leave  any 
ground  for  considering  the  colony  as  still  French.  The 
ratifications  and  their  exchange  could  experience  no 
delay  at  Washington,  and  after  these  proceedings  and 
the  delivery  of  possession  every  attempt  of  the  English 
on  Louisiana  would  have  been  directed  against  a  pro- 
vince of  the  American  Union,  and  would  have  afforded 
room  for  just  reclamations  on  the  part  of  the  whole 
confederacy. 


THE 


If  *!*»«'« 


HISTORY   OF   LOUISIAJVA, 


PART  III. 


EXECUTION  OF  THE  TREATV  OP  CESSION. — EVENTS  ARISINO 
FROM  THE  CESSION. 


J 


THK 


HISTORY   OF   liOlJISIANA. 


PART    THE    THIRD. 


EXECUTION  OF  THE  TREATY  OP  CESSION. — EVENTS  ARISINCi 
FKOM  THE  CESSION. 

The  foresight  of  the  first  consul  and  his  anxiety  re- 
specting the  part  which  England  would  adopt  under  the 
then  existing  circumstances  were  fully  justified.  The 
English  ministers,  when  informed  of  the  object  of  Mr. 
Monroe's  mission,  conceived  that  there  was  no  longer 
time  to  undertake  the  conquest  of  Louisiana,  unless  it 
was  attempted  witli  the  concurrence  of  the  United 
States.  They  made  a  proposition  to  that  eflect  to  Mr. 
Rufus  King,  the  American  envoy  at  London,  giving  iiim 
to  understand  that  the  province  would  be  retroccded 
to  his  government  at  the  peace.  A  few  days  after  the 
signature  of  the  treaty,  the  two  American  plenipoten- 
tiaries at  Paris  were  made  acquainted  with  this  over- 
ture by  Mr.  King.  It  was  easy  for  them  to  conjec- 
ture at  what  sacrifices  the  United  States  would  have 
liad  to  purchase  the  profferred  retrocession,  cvlmi  if  Eng- 
land, once  in  possession,  had  consented  to  carry  it  into 
oflect :  they  were,  therefore,  far  from  regretting  that  they 
were  no  longer  in  a  situation  to  accept  the  British  pro- 
posal.   On  another  account,  it  was  important  that  the 


S 


A'20 


I'HE  HISTOKV 


British  government  should  know  the  result  of  the  ne- 
gotiation, and  it  was  accordingly  communicated  to  it 
without  delay. 

The  war  with  France  having  commenced,  the  Eng. 
lish  were  interested  in  preserving  a  good  understand- 
ing with  the  United  States.  The  proposition  to  take 
possession  of  Louisiana  being  set  aside,  Mr.  King  re- 
ceived from  Lord  Hawkesbury  a  satisfactory  answer 
respecting  the  cession.  He  transmitted  it  without  de- 
lay to  his  goverLment.  But,  in  the  uncertainty  in  which 
Bonaparte  still  was  on  this  subject,  he  adopted  the 
course  of  having  the  ratifications  exchanged  at  Wash- 
ington instead  of  Paris.  He  wished  above  all,  by  thus 
gaining  time  on  England,  to  hasten  the  transmission 
of  the  money  that  had  been  stipulated  to  be  paid. 

The  treaties,  forwarded  to  Washington  with  as  much 
despatch  as  possible,  arrived  there  on  the  14th  of  July. 
]803.  The  original  documents  intended  for  Louisianu, 
were  sent  with  them.  M.  Pichon,  the  charge  d'affaires 
of  France,  had  orders  to  trjinsmit  them  to  M.  Laussat, 
the  prefect  of  the  province,  as  soon  as  the  ratifications 
were  exchanged. 

The  prohibition  respecting  the  entrepot  at  New  Or- 
leans was  finally  taken  oil',  and  the  intendant  had,  by  a 
proclamation  of  the  month  of  May,  J  803,  annulled 
the  one  of  the  16th  of  October  preceding,  which  liad 
excited  so  much  a<,ntation. 

This  difficulty  had  sc.iicely  ceased,  wLen  the  Spa- 
nish minister  at  Washington  stated,  "  that  he  had  or- 
ders to  warn  the  federal  government  to  suspend  tin' 


OP  LOUISIANA. 


321 


ratification  and  execution  of  the  treaties  of"  cession  of 
Louisiana,  as  tlie  French  government,  in  receiving  the 
province,  had  contracted  an  engagement  with  Spain 
not  to  retrocede  it  to  any  otiicr  power:  and,  besides, 
one  of  the  conditions,  in  reference  to  which  the  king 
his  master  had  transferred  it  to  France,  was  that  the 
latter  power  should  obtain  from  all  the  courts  of  Eu- 
rope the  acknowledgment  of  the  king  of  Etruria. 
France  not  having  executed  that  engagement,  the  trea- 
ty of  cession  was  null." 

The  Marquis  de  la  Casa  Yrnjo  had  given  publicity 
to  his  protest,  r.nd  this  complication  of  embarrass- 
ments, arising  from  distrusts  and  contradictory  inte- 
rests, had  nearly  again  thrown  the  business  into  the 
state  of  confusion  from  which  the  treaty  of  Paris  had 
extricated  it.  Some  pretended  to  see  in  the  opposition 
of  His  Catholic  Majesty's  minister  a  concert  between 
Spain  and  England  to  prevent  the  effect  of  the  cession. 
Others,  imputing  to  France  the  most  disgraceful  de- 
ception, asserted  that  Spain  was  only  acting  under  her 
influence;  and  they  insisted,  especially,  that  the  price 
agreed  on  should  not  be  paid  till  after  ])ossession  was 
taken. 

M.  Piclion  had  orders  so  to  combine  his  proceed- 
nigs  and  communications  that  the  two  cessions,  name- 
ly, i'rom  Spain  to  France  and  from  France  to  the 
United  States,  should  be  made  without  leaving  such 
an  interval  of  time  as  might  justily  an  expedition  on 
the  part  of  the  English.  He  was  informed  of  the  sus- 
picions which  it  was  attempted  to  throw  on  the  good 

41 


I 


322 


liiK  iii.«;toii\ 


faitli  of  the  cabinet  of  tlic  Tuilcrics;  a  few  malecoii' 
tents  also  raised  clamours  respecting  the  enormity  ol 
the  price  that  had  been  agreed  on.  This  excitement 
checked  the  good  intentions  of  the  American  govern- 
ment, whicli  would  otherwise  have  been  disposed  to 
deliver  without  delay  the  money  and  stock  that  wore 
impatiently  expected  at  Paris.  M.  Pichon,  in  no  way 
diverted  from  his  purpose  by  the  protest  of  M.  Yrujo. 
sent  by  land  to  M.  Laussat  on  the  14th  of  October  tlie 
orders  which  he  was  instructed  to  transmit  to  him. 
Those  who  censured  the  treaty  were  obstinate  in  as- 
serting that  the  apparent  dissension  between  the  two 
ministers  was  only  an  artifice  contrived  by  the  cabinet": 
of  Paris  and  Madrid. 

Mr.  Jefterson,  on  his  part,  rising  superior  to  the 
alarms  that  had  been  circulated,  and  disdaining  all 
want  of  confidence,  convened  congress,  anticipating, 
on  account  of  the  crisis,  the  usual  period.  He  opened 
the  session  on  the  17th  of  October,  1803,  and  submitted 
the  treaties  to  the  examination  and  constitutional  sanc- 
tion of  the  senate.  The  magnitude  of  the  si'm,  and 
even  the  nature  of  the  contract,  gave  rise  to  discus- 
sions. The  senators  who  opposed  the  ratification, 
men  deserving  of  esteem,  but  advocates  of  rigorous 
theories,  invoked  in  support  of  their  argument  those 
maxims  of  universal  justice,  which  necessity  and  even 
expediency  so  often  silence.  "  Congress,"  they  said. 
"  had  not  the  power  of  annexing  by  treaty  new  territo- 
ries to  the  confederacy.  This  right  could  only  belong 
to  the  whole  people  of  the  United  States."    These  sc- 


OP  LOrfSIAN'A. 


323 


nators  likewise  required  the  free  acquiescence  of  the 
Louisianians.  «  This  was  their  natural  right:  and  the 
formal  consent  of  the  two  people  was,"  according  to 
them,  "indispensable;  namely,  the  consent  of  the  one 
party  to  belong  to  the  Union,  and  that  of  the  other  to 
enlarge  its  territory.  Neither  the  constitution  nor  any 
act  that  had  emanated  from  them  had  authorized  the 
president  to  conclude  such  a  treaty." 

These  opponents  brought  forward,  in  the  very  bo- 
som of  a  republican  legislature,  the  example  of  the 
absolute  sovereigns  of  Europe.  "We  have  seen," 
they  said,  "  these  princes  show  more  respect  for  the 
original  and  primitive  rights  of  the  people,  and  not 
dispose  of  a  state  and  its  inhabitants  as  if  it  was  a 
question  respecting  the  sale  of  a  manufacture  or  a  flock 
of  sheep.  Maria  Theresa,  in  abandoning  to  the  king 
of  Prussia  certain  fiefs  which  depended  on  the  king- 
dom of  Bohemia,  acknowledged  that  the  abandonment 
could  not  be  consummated  till  the  states  of  that  king- 
dom had  made  a  solemn  renunciation  of  them;  and 
are  we,  the  citizens  of  a  free  country,  about  to  give  an 
example  of  a  violation  of  this  natural  right !" 

Jefferson  himself,  a  zealous  republican,  would  have 
wished  to  diminish  tb.c  powers  of  the  government  in- 
stead of  extending  them.  The  branch  of  the  federal 
government,  to  which  the  general  powers  of  the  con- 
federacy at  home  and  abroad  are  confided,  seemed 
to  him  to  menace  the  republic  with  a  consolidation 
prejudicial  to  the  authority  of  the  individual  states. 
He  considered  his  own  authority  too  monarchical. 


>4e' 


'.m 


m 


324 


tiiE  lu.^ioia 


He  would  have  desired  to  have  had  the  assent  ot  the 
people  to  the  treaties  previously  to  their  ratification. 
But  tlicrc  was  a  real  danger  in  the  delay,  and  he,  on 
this  occasion,  did  violence  to  his  own  principles. 

It  was  not  difficult  to  demonstrate  to  him  the  great 
advantages  which  would  result  from  the  treaty  as  well 
to  the  United  States  as  to  the  Louisianians.  The 
confederacy  had  only  aspired  to  the  enjoyment  of  a 
free  navigation  of  the  Mississippi,  and  the  treaty  gave 
it  almost  another  world. 

The  senate  approved  the  treaties  at  the  very  mo- 
ment that  the  Marquis  do  la  Casa  Yrujo  was  protest- 
ing with  the  most  violence.  The  constitution  requires 
the  concurrence  of  two-thirds  of  the  senators  present. 
and  there  was  a  majority  of  twenty-four  votes  agahist 
seven.  The  president  ratified  them  the  next  day,  the 
21st  of  October,  1803,  without  awaiting  the  return  of 
the  n^essenger,  who  was  carrying  to  Laussat  the  orders 
of  his  government.  There  was  no  where  any  reserve, 
and  the  exchange  of  the  two  instruments  was  executed 
purely  and  simply  in  the  ordinary  form.  Mr.  Jefferson, 
in  giving  his  ratification,  declared  that  as  soon  as  the 
United  States  should  be  in  possession  of  the  colony,  by 
a  legal  transfer  to  them  through  the  French  commis- 
sioner, the  treaty  should  be  deemed  to  have  had  its 
entire  execution. 

All  the  documents  relating  to  this  affair  were  imme- 
diately afterwards  communicated  to  the  house  of  re- 
presentatives. A  few  of  the  members  raised  objec- 
tions, which  were  principally  drawn  from  the  exorbitant 


<>K   I.OI'ISilAiNA. 


;i2.> 


price  that  the  plenipotentiaries  had  stipulated.  They 
were  rephed  to  with  force,  and  one  of  the  delegates, 
who  approved  the  treaties,  pronounced  on  tlie  occa- 
sion the  following  words,  which  this  history  ought  to 
preserve:  '-In  a  few  years,"  said  he,  "  we  shall  rank 
with  the  most  powerful  states  of  the  world.  Even  the 
acquisition  that  we  are  now  making  will  promptly  ex- 
tinguish the  debt  that  we  are  going  to  contract.  Tiie 
possession  of  Louisiana  will  enrich  all  the  eastern 
states.  Others  will  be  formed  from  it  that  will  contri- 
bute to  our  public  revenue.  J^et  us  religiously  observe 
tlie  rules  of  justice,  and  let  us  fuKil  our  engagements 
with  the  utmost  exactitude.  We  will  soon  be  a  i)Ower 
formidable  to  all  the  states  that  succumb  under  the 
weight  of  their  debts,*' 

The  three  powers*  of  the  American  goverrment 
concurred  in  ratifying  the  treaties  without  any  modifi- 
cation. The  necessity  of  this  concurrence  to  carry  a 
treaty  into  full  effect  might  embarrass  the  most  simple 
negotiation,  if  one  of  them  was  against  it;  but  the  op- 
position were  in  a  very  small  minority.  The  acts, 
which  it  was  requisite  that  congress  should  pass,  en- 
countered no  difficulty.  They  gave  the  president  power 
to  cause  possession  to  be  taken,  and  by  other  laws 


M 


Vi 


*  Tlie  president,  with  the  advice  nud  consent  of  the  senate,  con- 
cludes treaties  whicli  arc  declared  by  the  constitution  to  be  the  su- 
preme law  of  the  land;  but  where  an  appropriation  of  money  is  re- 
quired, it  is  necessary  to  pass  an  act  of  congress,  in  which  the 
house  of  representatives  must  of  course  concur.  In  such  cases, 
However,  it  has  been  supposed  that  the  national  faith  is  pledged  to 
*inact  the  laws  proper  to  carry  the  treaties  into  eftect.— Traxsl. 


:)20 


THE  IHSTORY 


Ihcy  created  the  public  stock.  The  American  minis- 
ters at  Paris  had  previously  authorized,  under  tlicir 
guarantee,  an  anticipation  of  the  public  credit  tor  two 
millions  of  dollars,  and  the  advance  of  this  paymenl 
to  the  French  treasury  had  been  generally  approved  at 
Washington,  oomc  even  regarded  this  partial  exe- 
cution of  the  contract  as  a  means  of  rendering  the  ces- 
sion irrevocable.  This  general  eagerness,  an  authen- 
tic sign  of  the  good  faith  of  congress,  was  also  an  evi- 
dence of  the  opinion  which  it  entertained  of  the  great 
advantages  of  the  acquisition  that  had  been  made. 
The  laws  and  royal  ordinances  were  provisionally 
maintained  in  Louisiana,  but  for  only  a  very  short 
time.  The  president  and  the  two  houses  of  congress 
ordered  that  the  laws  of  the  American  Union  should 
be  proclaimed  and  executed  there. 

The  orders  sent  to  M.  Laussat  and  the  American 
officers  had  anticipated  the  possible  case  of  a  resist- 
ance on  the  part  of  the  Spanish  authorities,  and,  as 
the  concurrence  of  the  latter  was  indispensable,  there 
was  some  uneasiness  respecting  the  final  issue  of  the 
affair.  Spain  abdicated  the  sovereignty  of  the  coun- 
try. The  French  dominion  was  only  to  last  a  few 
days.  The  United  States  had  not  yet  any  authority 
there.  The  articles  of  the  treaty  were  not  known. 
The  present  was  for  many  a  motive  for  regretting  the 
past:  the  future  offered  to  all  only  uncertain  hopes. 
The  Spanish  authorities  and  officers  feared  for  their 
old  settlements  the  influence  of  the  neighbourhood  of 
a  free  and  independent  colony.    The  French  prefect 


OK  I,0IJIJ>IANA. 


:i27 


and  other  olHccrs  saw  vanisli,  with  regret,  the  hope 
that  they  had  entertained  of  concurring  in  the  founda- 
tion of  a  great  colonial  cstabhslnnent,  wliich  was 
deemed  necessary  to  the  prosperity  of  tlic  Frencli 
commerce.  St.  Domingo  seemed  irreparably  lost:  re- 
fugee planters  arrived  every  day  bringing  most  melan- 
choly news;  and  Louisiana,  where  tlicy  had  hoped  to 
find  a  new  France,  no  longer  appeared  to  them  an 
asylum. 

M.  Laussat  had  resided  lor  nine  months  at  New  Or- 
leans, without  assuming  his  public  character.  M.  Lan- 
dais,  the  French  officer  who  was  sent  to  liim  from 
Washington  by  land,  traversed  the  countries  inhabited 
by  the  Creeks  and  Cherokees.  We  would  here  remark 
that  these  tribes  have  not  yet  evacuated  these  territo- 
ries, and  would  also  add,  that  the  federal  city  of  Wash- 
ington communicates  at  this  day,  (1828,)  with  New 
Orleans  by  an  easy  and  safe  road,  frequented  by  nume- 
rous travellers  who  pass  through  the  Indian  country. 

M.  Landais  arrived  on  the  2.'3d  of  November,  1803. 
On  the  26th  the  French  prefect  had  a  conference  with 
Messrs.  De  Salcedo  and  Casa  Calvo,  the  commission- 
ers of  the  catholic  king,  and  immediately  afterwards, 
preparations  of  every  kind  announced  to  the  public  the 
cession  that  was  about  to  bo  made  to  France. 

On  the  30th  of  November,  Laussat,  in  his  character 
of  commissioner  of  the  French  government,  announced, 
by  the  following  proclamation,  addressed  to  the  Lou- 
isianians,  the  mission  with  which  he  was  charged : 

•'  This  mission."  said  he.  "  less  agreeable  to  mo  than 


»■•« 


J-lii 


lllK  Ills TOKV 


■ 


iho  one  winch  I  had  come  to  lulfil,  liovvcver,  oU'crs  inc 
the  consolation  tliat  it  will  be  more  advantageous  to 
you  tlian  the  hist  could  have  been.  The  return  of  the 
French  sovereignty  will  he  only  momentary.  The  ap- 
proach of  a  war,  which  threatens  the  four  ([uarteis  ol 
the  world,  has  given  a  new  direction  to  the  beneficent 
views  of  France  towards  Louisiana,  yhe  has  ceded 
it  to  the  United  States  of  America. 

"  The  treaty  secures  to  you  all  the  advantages  and 
immunities  of  citizens  of  the  United  States,  The  parti- 
cular government,  which  you  will  select,  will  be  adapt- 
ed to  your  customs,  usages,  climate,  and  opinions. 

"  Above  all,  you  will  not  fail  to  experience  the  ad- 
vantages of  an  upright,  \rtial,  incorruptible  juirtice. 
where  the  publicity  anu  invariable  forms  of  the  pro- 
cedure, as  well  as  the  limits  carefully  interposed  to  the 
arbitrary  application  of  the  laws,  will  concur  with  the 
moral  and  national  character  of  the  judges  and  juries 
in  effectually  guarantying  to  the  citizens  their  property 
and  personal  security. 

'•  The  Mississi|)pi,  which  waslics  not  deserts  of  burn- 
ing sand,  but  the  most  extensive,  the  most  icrtile,  and 
the  most  favourably  situated  plains  of  the  new  world. 
will,  at  the  quays  of  this  new  Alexandria,  be  forthwith 
crowded  with  thousands  of  vessels  of  all  nations. 

"  I  have  great  pleasure,  Louisianians,  m  opposing 
this  picture  to  the  touching  re])roaches  of  having  aban- 
doned you,  and  to  the  tender  regrets,  to  which  this  in- 
delible attachment  of  very  many  of  you  to  the  coun- 
Irv  oi"  vour  ancestor??  maket^  vou  give  utterance  on  the 


OF  LOlfl>IANA. 


329 


olibi's  inc 
Lgcous  to 
nil  of  the 
The  5ip. 
uarttMs  ul 
)cneficcnt 
las  ceded 

tages  and 
I'hc  parti- 
bo  adapt- 
11  ions. 
:c  the  ad- 
!c  justice, 
f  the  pro- 
sed to  the 
•  witli  the 
and  juries 
r  property 

ts  of  burn- 
er tile,  iind 
lew  world. 

forthwith 
tions. 

opi)Oj5ing 
ving  aban- 
cli  this  in- 
thc  couii- 
ice  on  the 


present  occasion.  Franco  and  her  government  will  hear 
the  account  of  these  regrets  with  afhctioii  and  grati- 
tude; but  you  will  soon  be  convinced  that  they  have 
marked  their  conduct  towards  you  by  the  most  eminent 
and  most  memorable  c»f  favours. 

"  Hy  this  proceeding  the  French  republic  gives  the 
first  example  in  modern  times  of  the  voluntary  emanci- 
pation of  a  colony; — an  example  of  one  of  those  colo- 
nies of  which  wc  are  delighted  to  find  the  prototype  in 
the  glorious  ages  of  antiquity:  may  a  Louisianian  and 
a  Frenchman  never  meet  now  or  hereafter  in  any  part 
of  the  world  without  feeling  sentiments  of  ad'ection, 
and  without  being  i  iutually  disposed  to  call  one  ano- 
ther brothers.*' 

On  the  morning  of  the  same  day,  the  Spanish 
troops  and  militia  were  drawn  up  in  front  of  the  City 
Hall.  The  French  and  Spanish  commissioners  came 
there,  followed  by  a  procession  of  the  merchants 
and  other  inhabitants  of  their  respective  nations. 
Three  chairs  were  arranged  in  the  council  chamber, 
and  Salcedo  occupying  the  middle  one,  Laussat  pre- 
sented to  him  the  decree  of  October  l^th,  1802,  by 
which  the  king  of  Spain  ordered  his  representative  to 
deliver  the  colony  to  the  French  plenipotentiary.  This 
order  was  dated  more  than  a  year  back.  M.  Laussat 
produced,  at  the  same  time,  the  authority  of  the  first  con- 
sul to  take  possession  of  the  country  in  the  name  of  the 
French  people.  After  the  public  reading  of  tliese  acts, 
the  Spanish  governor,  leaving  his  scat,  delivered  him 

-\2 


h  Hi; 


;33() 


THE  HISTORV 


i 


f 


the  keys  of  the  city,  and  the  Marquis  dc  la  Casa  Calvo 
announced,  "  that  the  Louisianians,  who  should  not  de- 
clare that  they  wished  to  retire  under  the  Spanish  au- 
thority, were  absolved  from  their  oath  of  fidelity  to  the 
catholic  king."  At  a  signal,  given  by  the  firing  of  can- 
non, the  Spanish  colours  were  lowered  and  the  Frencli 
hoisted. 

The  French  forces  only  consisted  of  a  small  num- 
ber of  officers  of  artillery  and  engineers.  The  charge 
of  the  lorts  and  of  the  diflferent  posts  on  the  Missis- 
sippi was  confided  to  the  local  militia. 

The  French  sovereignty  lasted  from  the  .3()th  of  No- 
vember to  the  20th  of  December,  180.3.  M.  Laussat. 
in  his  character  of  chief  of  the  government  during  this 
interval,  provided  for  the  administration  of  justice  in 
summary  and  urgent  matters.  In  spite,  however,  ot 
his  anxious  care,  this  short  space  of  time  was  not  ex- 
empt from  troubles. 

The  districts  of  Attakapas  and  Opelousas,  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  New  Orleans,  but  on  the  other  side 
of  the  river,  were  composed  of  plantations,  wliosc 
proprietors,  imperfectly  informed  of  the  circumstances 
of  the  change,  explained  it  in  different  ways  accord- 
ing to  their  particular  interests:  these  quarrels  would 
have  led  to  acts  of  violence,  had  they  not  been  ap- 
peased by  the  proclamations  of  the  prefect  and  some 
measures  of  the  actual  government,  which,  thougli 
transitory,  were  suflficient  to  show  that  the  colo/iy  was 
not  entirely  given  up  to  anarchy. 


sa  Calvo 
d  not  de- 
inish  au- 
ty  to  the 
g  of  can- 
3  French 

lall  num- 
c  charge 

5  Missis- 

li  of  No- 
Laussat. 
ring  this 
usticc  in 
i^ever.  of 
;  not  cx- 

s,  in  the 
ther  side 
3,  whose 
nstanccs 
accord- 
Is  would 
been  ap- 
nd  some 
,  thougli 
lo/'.y  was 


OF  LOUISIANA.  331 

Messrs.  Dc  Salcedo  and  Casa  Calvo  liad  exercised 
an  absolute  authority:  but,  far  from  their  being  re- 
proached with  any  abuse  of  power,  it  was  admitted 
that  they  had  administered  the  government  with  wis- 
dom, moderation,  and  justice;  the  inhabitants,  in- 
deed, only  waited  till  the  cession  was  made  to  the 
United  States,  and  their  authority  had  entirely  ceased, 
to  render  them  a  public  proof  of  affection  and  grati- 
tude. Thenceforth  no  favour  was  hoped  for  from  them, 
and  these  testimonies  of  respect  had  a  much  more  cer- 
tain rharacter  of  sincerity  than  those  wliich  are  inva- 
riably addressed  to  rulers  on  their  accession  to  power. 

The  United  Slates  had  garrisons  on  the  frontier 
posts.  General  Wilkinson,  liaving  taken  command  of 
tiiem,  advanced  to  the  left  bank  of  the  Mississippi,  and 
established  his  camp,  on  the  17th  and  18th  of  Decem- 
ber, 1803,  at  half  a  league  from  New  Orleans.  As 
soon  as  this  division  was  in  sight,  the  Spanish  troops 
embarked  and  set  sail  for  the  Havannah. 

The  next  day,  discharges  of  artillery  from  the  forts 
and  vessels  in  the  road  announced  the  farewell  which 
the  French  magistrates  were  then  taking  of  the  colo- 
ny. They  became  for  ever  strangers  to  a  province  al- 
ternately vSpanish  and  French,  and  which  bore  the 
name  of  one  of  our  greatest  kings:  they  once  more 
addressed  as  countrymen  those  whom  they  were  never 
again  to  see.  This  colony,  which  had  been  always  ex- 
posed to  inevitable  vicissitudes  under  the  laws  of  a  state, 
from  which  it  was  separated  two  thousand  leagues, 
was  now  undergoing  its  last  crisis.    This  event  put 


I! 


■HI 


WRI 


332 


THF,   HISTOft\ 


) 


an  end  to  uncertainties  that  had  lasted  for  a  century, 
and  fixed  for  ever  the  fate  of  these  fine  regions.  The 
spontaneous  acknowledgment  of  the  independence  ot 
Louisiana,  its  annexation  to  the  confederacy  of  a  pros- 
perous people  were  the  acts  of  the  wisest  policy;  and 
those  who  shall  hereafter  be  in  a  condition  to  observe 
their  consequences,  will  admit  that  they  ought  to  rank 
with  the  most  important  occurrences  in  the  history  of 
our  timf^s. 

On  the  20th  of  December,  the  day  fixed  for  the  de- 
livery of  the  colony  to  the  United  States,  Laussat,  ac- 
companied by  a  numerous  retinue,  went  to  the  City 
Hall,  it  the  same  instant  the  American  troops  were. 
by  his  orders,  introduced  into  the  capital. 

Claiborne  and  Wilkinson  were  received  in  form  in 
the  City  Hall,  and  were  placed  on  the  two  sides  of  the 
prefect.  The  treaty  of  cession,  the  respective  powers 
of  the  commissioners,  and  the  certificate  of  the  ex- 
change of  ratifications  were  read.  Laussat  then  pro- 
nounced these  words :  "  In  conformity  with  the  treaty. 
I  put  the  United  States  in  possession  of  Louisiana  and 
its  dependencies.  The  citizens  and  inhabitants,  who 
wish  to  remain  here  and  obey  the  laws,  are  from  this 
moment  exonerated  from  the  oath  of  fidelity  to  the 
French  republic."  Mr.  Claiborne,  the  governor  of  the 
territory  of  Mississippi,  exercising  the  powers  of  go- 
vernor general  and  intendant  of  the  province  of  Lou- 
isiana, delivered  a  congratulatory  discourse,  addressed 
to  the  l^ouisiunians.  "  The  cession,"  said  he,  '-secures 
to  you  and  your  descendants  the  inlieritance  of  liberty. 


JF  LOI/ISIANA. 


333 


perpetual  laws,  and  magistrates,  whom  you  will  elect 
yourselves."  These  formalities  being  fulfilled,  the  com- 
missioners of  the  two  powers,  on  retiring,  might  have 
witnessed  an  incident  produced  by  the  last  impressions 
which  this  transfer  occasioned. 

On  the  arrival  of  M.  Laussat,  nine  months  before  his 
recall,  the  colony  might  have  considered  itself  again 
French,  and  a  little*  time  had  sufficed  to  revive  in  the 
hearts  of  some  old  inhabitants  sentiments,  which  so  long 
a  separation  had  not  been  able  entirely  to  extinguish. 
They  manifested  them  on  occasion  of  the  change  of 
the  flag.  During  the  twenty  days  that  the  French  sove- 
reignty lasted,  the  French  colours  had  been  displayed 
on  the  City  Hall.  Some  French  soldiers  retired  for  many 
years  to  Louisiana,  others,  brought  together  from  dif- 
ferent places  on  the  Mississippi  by  accident  or  their  re- 
spective interests,  had  assembled  at  the  sight  of  the  na- 
tional colours.  To  the  number  of  fifty,  they  had,  at  their 
own  suggestion,  constituted  themselves  guardians  of  a 
flag  rendered  illustrious  by  so  many  victories,  and  they 
watched  over  it  as  if  it  had  been  si)ecial!y  intrusted  to 
them.  The  change  of  the  flags  was  eftccted  by  rais- 
ing the  one  and  lowering  the  other.  When  they  met 
midway,  they  were  kept  stationary  for  a  few  instants, 
and  the  artillery  and  trumpets  celebrated  the  union; 
when  file  flag  of  the  United  Stntes  rose  to  its  fidl 
height  and  waved  in  the  air,  the  Americans  expressed 
their  joy  by  the  usual  shouts;  at  the  same  time,  the 
colours  of  the  French  republic  were  lowered  and  re- 


'ti*: 


334 


THE  HISTORY 


ceived  in  the  arms  of  the  French  who  had  guarded 
them ;  their  regrets  were  openly  expressed,  and  to  ren- 
der a  last  homage  to  this  token,  which  was  no  longer 
that  of  the  sovereignty  of  the  country,  the  sergeant- 
major  wrapped  it  around  him  as  a  scarf,  and,  after  tra- 
versing the  city,  proceeded  towards  the  house  of  the 
French  commissioner.  The  little  troop  accompanied 
him;  they  were  saluted  in  passing  before  the  lines  of 
the  Americans,  who  presented  arms  to  them.  The 
officers  of  the  militia,  for  the  most  part  of  French  ori- 
gin, followed  in  a  body.  They  said  to  Laussat,  on  his 
receiving  them;  "  We  have  wished  to  give  to  France  a 
last  proof  of  the  aftection,  which  we  will  always  retain 
for  her.  It  is  into  your  hands  that  we  deposite  this 
symbol  of  the  tie  which  had  again  transiently  connect- 
ed us  with  her."  Laussat  replied:  "  May  the  prospe- 
rity of  Louisiana  be  eternal." 

This  magistrate  only  quitted  the  colony,  the  23d  o( 
April  of  the  ensuing  yenr,  leaving  there  an  honourable 
reputation.  Mr.  ('laiborne,  the  commissioner  who  ad- 
ministered the  government,  declared  that  the  authority 
of  the  United  States  was  established,  and  the  public 
officers  installed  in  the  exercise  of  their  functions.  His 
proclamation  guarantied  to  the  inhabitants  the  preser- 
vation of  their  religious,  civil,  and  private  rights.  The 
promises  which  he  made  to  them  would  have  seemed 
too  magnilicenl,  if  they  had  not  had  a  sort  of  guaran- 
tee in  the  prosperity  of  the  other  states  of  the  confe- 
deracy. 


OF  LOUISIANA. 


:V.i:~t 


The  Spanish,  FVench,  and  American  chiefs  had  ne- 
glected nothing  to  maintain  harmony  between  the 
three  nations.  On  the  first  days,  however,  after  the 
occupiition,  several  accidents  were  occasioned  by  the 
diversi  ,y  of  language,  usages,  and  habits,  as  well  as  by 
the  regret  which  many  felt  at  seeing  broken  for  ever 
the  ties  that  had  united  them  to  another  people.  Com- 
plaints were  also  made  of  the  insolence  of  some  Ame- 
rican patrols  to  the  inhabitants.*  The  discretion  and 
firmness  of  the  magistrates  easily  repressed  these  move- 
ments. 

The  revolution  which  had  just  taken  place,  was  in  fact 
very  different  from  that  which  in  176.*>.  had  caused  such 
violent  commotions,  and  led  to  the  she  Iding  of  the  blood 
of  the  colonists,  who  were  discontented  with  a  new 
sovereignty.  The  Americans  and  Louisianians  coa- 
lesced after  having  been  near  engaging  in  a  war,  and 
even  after  commercial  hostilities  had  actually  com- 
menced. On  the  eve  of  the  change,  it  was  supposed 
that  agriculture,  commerce,  and  navigation,  were  ru- 
ined. A  few  reflections  had  sufficed  to  calm  this  a^i- 
tation.  All  the  white  inhabitants  of  every  class  were 
about  to  participate  in  the  advantages  of  liberty. 

The  treaty  had  only  placed  Louisiana  in  the  situa- 
tion most  favourable  for  liberty,  and  if  France  had  at- 
tempted to  keep  it  and  maintained  the  exclusive  sys- 
tem there,  no  human  etfort  could  have  prevented  its  in- 
corporation into  the  American  confederacy. 

*  General  orihn-nr  December  ^JGth.  1803. 


I 


ill 


'VM)  THE  HISTORY 

From  that  moment  we  were  authorized  to  believe 
that  the  hopes  entertained  by  the  negotiators  of  the 
treaties  were  reahzed.  Their  correctness  may  at  this 
day  be  still  better  appreciated.  Has  Louisiana,  during 
the  last  twenty-six  years,  made  any  progress  in  agri- 
culture and  commerce?  Have  tbio  laws  meliorated 
tlie  condition  of  the  inhabitants  ?  Is  it  now  a  matter 
beyond  all  doubt,  that  there  exists  a  vast  portion  of  the 
world,  where  agriculture,  navigation,  sciences  so  high- 
ly favourable  to  the  happiness  of  mankind,  are  going  to 
be  freely  developed?  These  questions  naturally  pie- 
sent  themselves  as  a  se(iuel  to  the  history  of  the  trea- 
ty. We  will  answer  them  by  giving  a  statement  of  the 
situation  of  the  colony  under  these  different  points  of 
view. 

On  the  20th  of  March,  1 801,  congress  divided  Louisi- 
ana into  two  territories.  The  southern  section  was 
called  Orleans,  and  the  northern  Louisiana,  but  they 
did  not  long  retain  these  names,  and  we  will  hereafter 
mention  the  reasons  for  their  being  changed. 

The  Louisianians  of  the  lower  country,  governed 
after  the  cession  as  inhabitants  of  a  territory  not  yet 
admitted  to  the  rank  of  a  state  of  the  confederacy,  as- 
pired to  that  privilege.  It  was  not  till  eight  years  af- 
ter that  event,  that  congress  authorized  them  to  form  a 
constitution,  in  order  to  their  being  received  into  the 
Union,  on  the  footing  of  the  original  states. 

This  fundamental  law  was  iVamed  by  a  converitioii. 
assembled  at  New  Orleans.      It  bears  date  Januarv 


OF  LOUISIANA. 


337 


22(1,  J  HI  2.  it  was  subsequently  submitted  to  con- 
gress, who  approved  it  under  the  title  of  the  constitu- 
tion of  Louisiana.  It  will  be  sufficient  to  point  out  its 
principal  provisions. 

The  three  departments  of  the  government  are  sepa- 
rate and  distinct. 

"  The  legislative  power  is  composed  of  a  senate  and 
house  of  representatives.  To  be  a  representative,  it  is 
necessary  to  be  a  free  white  citizen,  of  the  age  of  twen- 
ty-one years  or  upwards,  to  possess  landed  property  to 
the  value  of  five  hundred  dollars,  and  to  have  resided 
within  the  state  for  two  years.  Every  free  white  citi- 
zen of  the  age  of  twenty-one  years,  paying  a  state  tax, 
is  an  elector  after  one  year's  residence. 

'•  To  be  a  senator,  it  is  necessary  to  have  resided 
within  the  state  for  four  years,  to  be  twenty-seven  years 
old,  and  to  hold  landed  property  of  the  value  of  one 
thousand  dollars. 

"  No  person,  while  '  ■>  continues  to  exercise  the  func- 

.,  teacher  of  any  religious 
-J  eligible  to  the  general  as- 
profit  or  trust  under  the  state, 
e  force  of  a  law,  until,  on  throe 
several  days,  it  be  read  over  in  each  house  of  the  ge- 
neral assembly,  and  free  discussion  allowed  thereon; 
unless,  in  case  of  urgency,  four-fifths  of  the  house  ^plierc 
tlie  bill  shall  be  depending,  may  deem  it  exppdient  to 
dispense  with  this  rule. 

•'The  governor  is  elected  for  four  years:  he  must 
be  at  least  thirty-five  years  of  age,  have  been  an  inha- 

43 


lions  of  a  clergyman,  r 
persuasion,  society,  or ' 
i vmbly,  or  to  any  ofiic 
"No  bill  shall  have 


338 


HIV.  ni,-.TOHV 


bitant  olthc  state  at  least  six  years  preceding  his  elec- 
tion, and  shall  hold  in  his  own  right  a  landed  estate  of 
five  thousand  dollars  value. 

"  No  member  of  congress  or  person  holding  any  of- 
fice under  the  United  States,  nor  a  minister  of  any  re- 
ligious society,  is  ehgibic  to  the  oilicc  of  governor. 

"  Every  bill  that  has  passed  both  houses,  is  presented 
to  the  governor.  If  he  approves  it,  he  signs  it;  if  not, 
he  returns  it  with  his  objections,  to  the  house  in  which 
it  originated.  After  being  thus  returned,  the  bill  can 
only  become  a  law,  if  approved  by  two-thirds  of  all  the 
members  elected  to  each  house." 

Louisiana  had,  till  the  adoption  of  this  constitution, 
been  governed  by  the  civil  and  criminal  laws  of  the 
kingdom  of  France;  and  those,  who,  a  century  before, 
had  prepared  this  first  legislation,  had  thought  so  httle 
of  accommodating  it  to  the  climate  and  local  circum- 
stances, that  to  abridge  their  labour,  they  had  subjected 
the  province  to  the  custom  of  Paris,  (coulume  de  Paris.) 
This  is,  however,  still  the  law  of  Lower  Canada  and  of 
other  colonies  which  cither  now  are,  or  formerly  were 
French. 

Before  the  cession,  an  appeal  from  the  judgments  of 
the  tribunals,  was  carried  to  the  superior  council  of 
Havannah,  and,  in  certain  cases,  to  the  council  of  Ma- 
drid. Justice  was  oftentimes  not  rendered  till  after  a 
lapse  of  several  years.  Justice  long  delayed  or  which 
must  be  sought  for  at  a  distance,  is  not  true  justice. 

The  laws  oV  Spain,  France,  and  the  United  States. 
have  ceased  since  1825,  to  prevail  in  this  country. 


OF  LOUISIANA. 


;i39 


where  these  three  powers  have  successively  ruled :  com- 
petent and  learned  men  liave  undertaken  the  great  task 
of  reconciling  them.  A  civil  codo  has  been  adopted, 
and  the  one  which  is  now  established  in  France  has 
been  of  no  little  service  in  its  compilation.* 

The  new  constitution,  granted  to  the  Fjouisianians 
the  important  ng\\t  o( habeas  corpus;  a  jury  trial  in  civil 
cases  at  the  request  of  either  of  the  parties;  the  power 
of  giving  bail  in  all  cases  not  capital,  and,  finally,  the 
trial  by  jury  in  all  criminal  prosecutions.  The  French 
settlers  thus  found  again  on  the  borders  of  the  Missis- 
sippi, the  trial  by  their  country  and  their  peers,  which 
was  so  dear  to  their  ancestors,  and  which  they  might 
consequently  receive  as  the  restoration  of  a  right. 

Mr.  Edward  Livingston,  a  brother  of  the  minister 
whosifrned  the  treaty  of  cession,  has  since  prepared  the 
plan  of  a  criminal  code,  in  which  he  ])roposcs  liie  abo- 
lition of  capital  punishmont. 

The  convention  that  formed  this  constitution,  was 
composed  of  forty  representatives,  of  whom  twenty-two 
were  of  French  origin,  and  eighteen  Americans  from 
the  Unitetl  States. 

The  name  of  Louisiana  was  at  first  that  of  the  whole 
ceded  province.  It  was  then  a[)plicd  only  to  the  coun- 
try washed  by  the  Missouri,  from  its  mouth  to  a  de- 
fined boundary  at  the  west.  New  Orleans  gave  its  name 
to  the  territory  situated  below  that  of  Louisiana  and  to 
the  right  of  the  Mississippi;  but  these  denominations 
liave  since  been  changed.     The  territory  of  New  Or- 

*  A  digest  of  civil  laws  for  Louisiana  was  prepared  and  adopted 
liv  the  legislature  of  the  then  territory  of  Cleans  in  1808.— Transl. 


■{■tin  *' 

'ft?!'  h. 


MO 


rilK  III.^iTOKV 


n 


i 


leans  has  become  the  state  of  Louisiana,  and  the  dis- 
trict which  bore  this  latter  name,  is  now  called  the 
state  of  Missouri.  It  was  not  till  the  J  0th  of  August, 
1821,  that  Missouri  was  admitted  into  the  Union. 

The  general  assembly  of  Louisiana  held  its  first  ses- 
sion in  1812.  Congress  had  authorized  it  to  include 
in  the  limits  of  the  state  a  territory  situated  to  the  east 
of  the  Mississippi,  and  which  Spain  persisted  in  claim- 
ing, as  a  part  of  West  Florida.  The  Louisianians 
themselves  agreed  that  it  had  been  considered  to  be- 
long to  Florida,  but,  nevertheless,  the  assembly  de- 
clared, by  one  of  its  first  acts,  that  this  district  of  coun- 
try was  a  portion  of  Louisiana.  It  was  certainly  a  very 
convenient  possession  fov  New  Orleans,  which  drew 
from  it  a  great  part  of  its  supplies;  but  this  eager- 
ness to  strengthen  doubtful  pretensions  by  possession. 
does  not  accord  with  the  spirit  of  justice  that  charac- 
terizes the  other  political  acts  of  the  United  States.* 

Ten  years  later  the  state  would  have  obtained  the 
same  augmentation  of  territory  by  an  incontestable  ti- 
tle. But,  at  the  period  when  the  Louisianians  seized 
on  it,  Spain  was  far  from  admitting  their  right.  As 
early  as  the  year  1803,  whilst  Mr.  Monroe  was  nego- 
tiating at  Paris  the  treaty  of  cession,  Mr.  PinckneV; 
the  minister  of  the  United  States  at  Madrid,  was  ask- 
ing of  Don  Pedro  Cevallos  that  the  Floridas  should  bo 
ceded  to  them;  and  he  proposed,  as  a  sort  of  equiva- 
lent, to  guaranty  to  the  king  and  his  successors  cer- 
tain dominions  of  Spain  situated  beyond  the  Mississip- 

*  See  Part  II.  page  387,  note. — Transl. 


OP  LOIIJSIANA. 


:u) 


1  to  bc- 
nbly  tlc- 
of"  coun- 
ly  a  very 
cli  drew 
s  eagcr- 
sscssion. 
;  cliarac- 
Jtates.* 
ined  the 
stable  ti- 
ls seized 
ght.  A,s 
as  ncgo- 
'inckney. 
was  asii- 
hould  bo 
i"  equiva- 
iors  cei- 
lississip- 


pi.  This  oflcr  of  guarnntcc  was  at  that  time  disdained 
by  the  court  of  Madrid,  nnd  wlicii,  in  IHlfJ,  it  mani- 
fested an  anxiety  to  accept  it,  and  include  within  its 
o})eration  Mexico  and  the  northern  colonies,  circum- 
stances had  changed:  the  revolt  had  every  where 
broken  out.  Tiie  United  States  were  fur  from  interfe- 
ring in  this  quarrel,  which  in  no  way  al.irmcd  them, 
and  which  they  did  not  der^irc  to  see  terminate  other- 
wise than  in  the  establishment  of  those  principles  of 
liberty,  to  which  they  were  so  fondly  attached.  Mr. 
Erving,  their  envoy,  declared  that  the  ofler,  not  accept- 
ed fifteen  years  before,  was  the  same  as  if  it  had  never 
been  made.  Reciprocal  complaints,  reclamations  ibr 
indemnities  on  account  of  prizes  illegally  made  at  sea, 
had  hi  this  Ion"  interval  rendered  the  nciwtiation  com- 
plicated.  Spain  was  engaged  in  dillicultics  which  did 
not  permit  her  to  give  any  farther  attention  to  the  Flo- 
ridas:  she  ceded  them,  and  the  United  States  thus  ac- 
complished, by  the  treaty  of  the  22d  of  February,  1819, 
the  great  design  which  they  had  formed  many  years  be- 
fore, of  having  only  the  sea  for  a  boundary  to  the  cast 
and  south. 

As  the  price  of  this  new  cession,  they  took  on  them- 
selves claims  for  indemnities  of  their  own  ship-owners 
and  merchants,  to  the  amount  of  five  millions  of  dollars. 

Thus,  they  were  indemnified  by  Spain,  as  they  had 
been  by  France,  for  spoliations,  which  privateers,  fur- 
nished with  the  instructions  of  a  doubtfid  authority, 
and  disavowed  by  the  law  of  nations,  had  been  able  to 
practise  with  impunity  on  their  connncrce:  and  these 


:V12 


iHF.  rnsrohv 


VI  , 


states,  scarcely  admitted  to  the  rank  of  nations,  proved 
to  the  world  that  they  would  never  sutler  any  unjust 


aggression. 


This  acquisition  added  new  value  to  that  of  I^ouisi- 
ana.  Some  navi<^able  rivers,  whieh  traverse  the  riori- 
das  to  their  embouchure  in  the  sea,  have  their  rise  and 
a  considerable  part  of  their  course  in  the  old  states. 
The  United  States  became  masters  in  the  gulf  of  Mex- 
ico of  navtal  stations  suitable  for  the  reception  of  ves- 
sels of  the  first  class.  I^'inally,  by  means  of  all  these  ag- 
grandizements, they  have  formed  one  of  the  most  pow- 
erful empires  in  the  world. 

The  wretched  and  miserable  races,  who  have  inhabit- 
ed for  centuries  tliese  various  and  extensive  countries, 
have  not  left  a  single  one  of  those  monuments  of  ge- 
nius and  the  arts,  which  attest  that  human  creatures 
have   embellished   their   abodes   and   meliorated   the 
land  where  Providence  gave  them  birth.     Some  tracct^ 
are,  however,  to  be  seen  of  an  incipient  civilization. 
In  many  places  aie  to  be  found  conical  or  pyramidical 
mounds  of  earth,  of  a  height  that  could  only  have  been 
raised  by  many  thousand  labourers,  employed  during  a 
great  number  of  years.   Some  of  them  arc  at  their  base 
more  than  twenty-five  hundred  feet  in  circumference, 
and  nearly  two  hundred  in  height.     The  pyramid  is 
terminated  by  a  platform  of  several  feet  in  diameter. 
There  are  also  others  of  small  dimensions,  which  arc 
placed  without  any  regularity,  and  so  close  together 
that  the  voice  is  without  difficulty  heard  from  one  to 
another  of  them.     These  elevations  could  not  have 


UF   I.OllslANA. 


31.4 


been  places  of  asyliiiu  or  (Icfi'iicc,  and  tlio  Indians  them- 
selves, when  interrogated  as  to  tlieir  destination,  do 
not  assign  them  any. 

Some  more  extensive  and  less  elevated  platlbrms  arc 
likewise  to  bu  noticed.  They  arc  formed  on  a  regnlar 
plan,  and  are  either  oval  or  square.  The  means  em- 
ployed to  render  the  access  to  them  difficult,  seems  to 
indicate  an  intention  oi'dcrencc.  In  other  parts  of  the 
country  these  constructions  are  diflbreiit,  and  some 
have  supposed  that  they  distinguished  in  them  courses 
of  stone.  Near  the  junction  of  the  Muskingum  with 
the  Ohio,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  Miamis,  and  in 
the  vicinity  of  Zanesville,  a  gr^at  number  of  these 
mounds  arc  to  be  seen.  .Some  arc  surrounded  by  ram- 
parts, and  are  excavated  within.  The  ramparts  arc 
sometimes  even  two  hundred  feet  in  height,  and  enclose 
areas  of  twenty-five  or  thirty  acres.  A  great  many  hu- 
man bones  are  scattered  in  them,  which  would  induce 
us  to  take  them  for  tombs,  if  the  enclosure  was  not 
too  large  to  have  had  only  such  a  destination.  It  is 
calculated  that  there  arc  nearly  three  thousand  of  these 
hillocks  in  the  parts  of  the  country  that  have  been  exa- 
mined. Travellers  have  thought  that  they  recognised 
111  them  places  consecrated  to  the  worship  of  idols. 

These  monuments,  as  ancient  perhaps  as  those  of 
Egypt,  do  not  in  any  other  respect  resemble  them, 
But,  though  rude,  they  could  not  have  been  construct- 
ed without  the  co-operation  of  a  great  many  men  ac- 
customed to  obedience,  habituated  to  discipline,  and 
'lirected  by  chiefs  not  wiiolly  strangers  to  the  practical 


It      'iJ' 

ii 


»-. 


It 


:ui 


THE  HISTORY 


! 


rules  of  geometry.  The  native  inhabitants  of  the  pre- 
sent  day  would  be  neither  sufficiently  docile,  nor  suffi- 
ciently numerous  for  their  chiefs  to  undertake  similar 
works.  They  consequently  attest  the  presence  of  races 
less  ignorant  than  those  which  we  see  there,  though 
they  might  not  have  been  much  farther  advanced  in 
civilization.  The  first  races  to  which  we  refer  have 
not  existed  for  several  centuries,  the  others  are  about 
to  disappear.  Their  imperfect  traditions  scarcely  go 
back  a  thousand  years,  and  we  may  conclude  that  they 
were  arrested  in  their  career  by  some  political  or  na- 
tural catastrophe. 

History  makes  us  accjuainted  with  man,  as  an  inha- 
bitant of  the  earth,  for  upwards  of  fifty  or  sixty  centu- 
ries. But,  during  this  great  number  of  years,  the  two 
hemispheres  have  continued  unknown  to  one  another, 
and  a  circumstance  so  extraordinary  can  only  be  ex- 
plained by  the  slight  progress  which  navigation  hail 
made  up  to  the  period  of  the  discovery  of  America. 

Researches  have  been  in  vain  made  to  ascertain 
whether  the  inhabitants  of  the  old  and  new  world  were 
of  the  same  origin,  and  whether  the  one  race  was  more 
ancient  than  the  other;  nothing  has  led  to  the  solution 
of  the  doubts  on  these  qutstions. 

A  treaty  of"  peace  and  friendship  has  been  concluded 
between  the  Osages,  on  the  one  part,  and  the  Delaware 
nation,  its  allies  the  Shawaiecs,  the  Kickapous,  the  Pi- 
ankashaws,  the  Weas,  the  Peorias,  and  the  Senecas 
on  the  other.  These  tribes:  reside  in  the  couniries 
ceded  bv  France  on  the  Missouri  and  Arkansas.  Tlii^ 


jngs 


the  pre- 
lor  sufTi- 
I  similar 
of  races 
tliougli 
uiced  in 
;fer  have 
e  about 
rcely  go 
hat  they 
.1  or  na- 

an  iiiha- 
ty  centu- 
,  the  two 

another, 
ily  be  e\- 
tion  iiad 
iierica. 
ascertain 
Drkl  were 
vas  more 
I  solution 

one  lulled 
)cla\varc 
!,  the  Pi- 
Senccas 
countries 
as.  Thii 


OF  LOUISIANA. 


345 


pacification  took  place  in  the  town  of  St.  Louis  on  the 
7th  of  October,  1826.  We  cannot  rely  on  its  durabi- 
lity. An  unfortunate  circumstance  occasions  frequent 
hostilities  among  the  Indian  nations  who  occupy  the 
countries  situated  between  the  Mississippi  and  the 
Rocky  Mountains.  The  white  hunters,  settled  on  the 
frontiers,  ruin  these  tribes  by  destroying  their  game. 
They,  on  their  side,  pressed  by  want,  fall  back  on  the 
other  Indians  of  the  north  and  west,  and,  although  in- 
ferior in  numbers,  almost  always  attack  them  with  suc- 
cess, because  their  neighbours,  the  whites,  furnish 
them  with  arms,  and  sometimes  join  with  thorn.  The 
United  States  hold  it  as  a  principle  that  the  emi- 
nent right  of  sovereignty  over  these  territories  belongs 
to  them,  but  that  they  cannot  have  the  proprietorship 
of  the  soil  without  giving  to  the  aborigines  an  equiva- 
lent in  money  or  merchandise.  This  is  an  abstract 
distinction. 

A  few  years  since  some  Trapists,  who  had  emi- 
grated from  Europe,  were  i  und  on  one  of  the  great 
prairies.  Brackenridgc,  who  visited  them  in  1812, 
says  that  their  village  contained  an  enclosure  of  a  hun- 
dred acres,  five  little  cabins,  and  all  the  other  build- 
ings necessary  for  agriculture.  "  They  iiave,"  says 
this  traveller,  "renounced  the  use  of  speech,  one  of  the 
noblest  gifts  of  God  to  man;  and  they  attempt  to  live 
in  society,  deprived  of  the  principal  agent  of  all  socie- 
ty.'' These  fathers,  whose  number  was  about  thirty 
or  forty,  were  almost  all  French  or  Germans.  They 
seemed  to  seek  in  solitude  and  silence  a  place  of  re- 

41 


m' 


.illi 


IHK  HlbiUKV 


pose,  which,  however,  soon  ceased  to  satisfy  thero. 
The  people,  wiio  are  beginning  to  settle  in  this  country, 
are  not  disposed  to  encourage  sucli  exaltations.  The 
Trapists,  weary  perhaps  at  having  so  few  witnesses 
of  their  silence,  and  tired  of  a  kind  of  perfectibility 
which  no  one  admired,  have  within  a  short  time  dis- 
persed. 

The  Mississippi,  one  of  the  greatest  rivers  of  the 
universe,  and  which  had  for  so  many  centuries  only 
served  for  the  navigation  of  a  few  canoes,  is  already 
equal  in  importance  to  the  finest  water  communica- 
tions in  the  world.  From  its  mouth  to  the  first  cata- 
racts, it  traverses,  in  a  course  of  fourteen  or  fifteen 
hundred  miles,  lands  of  excellent  quality.  In  some 
spots,  where  its  banks  approacli  near  together,  it  flows 
with  a  rapidity  of  lour  or  five  miles  an  hour.  It  re- 
ceives the  Missouri  and  other  rivers,  which  bring  it  a 
prodigious  quantity  of  trees  that  are  torn  up  by  the 
inundations  or  by  the  ice.  These  waters  depositc  in 
the  plains  a  rich  slime,  formed  from  vegetables  that 
were  decomposed  centuries  ago.  Tlie  river  carries  oil 
the  greatest  portion  of  it  to  the  gulf  of  Mexico,  where 
it  is  swallowed  up  and  lost  for  reproduction.  The  accu- 
mulation of  this  slime  sometimes  obstructs  the  channel 
and  alters  its  j)osition.  The  bed  of  the  river  successive- 
ly rises  in  difiercnt  places.  TUc  western  or  right  banks 
become  higher  than  the  plains  which  they  are  to  defend 
against  the  inundations;  and  these  immense  volumes  ot 
water  are,  with  an  admiration  mingled  with  dread,  seen 
to  move  on,  increase  m  bulk,  overrun  the  bank?-  and 


UF  LOUISIANA. 


347 


y  llicrn. 
country. 
s.  Tlie 
dtncsscs 
DCtibility 
ime  dis- 

s  of  tlic 
ries  only 
already 
imunica- 
rst  cata- 
>r  fifteen 
In  sonic 
,  it  flovvG 
'.  It  re- 
ring  it  a 
[)  by  the 
positc  in 
bles  that 
arries  off 
o,  where 
'he  accu- 
;  channel 
ccessivc- 
;ht  banks 
to  defend 
jlunics  of 
cad, seen 
nkir.  un<l 


inundate  those  superb  valleys,  the  soil  of  which  is 
lower  than  the  level  of  the  shore.  Unfortunately  these 
dykes,  which  are  not  capable  of  arresting  the  inunda- 
tion, afterwards  prevent  the  return  of  the  water  to  the 
bed  of  the  river.  The  evaporation  which  comes  on 
in  summer,  without  having  any  effect  on  the  deep  dc- 
posites,  increases  the  calamity,  and  the  ground  being 
only  half  drained,  stagnate  pools  are  every  where 
formed,  which  render  the  atmosphere  unhealthy,  and 
the  country  almost  uninhabitable.  Some  elevations, 
the  work  of  nature,  or  of  these  very  inundations,  exist 
beyond  the  strands  which  extend  along  the  river.  But 
the  waters  reach  even  these  little  islands,  and  if  a  few 
cultivators  have  dared  to  settle  on  them,  they  must  with 
their  families  and  cattle  hasten  to  sjain  a  height,  from 
whence  they  sec  their  houses  and  fields  completely  un- 
der water. 

This  calamity,  too  general  on  the  lower  Mississippi, 
will,  for  a  long  time,  prevent  improvements  being  made 
proportionate  to  the  extent  of  the  country.  Hut  these 
inundations  will' one  dav  be  chauiied  into  an  artificial 
irrigation;  breaches  will  be  o{)cned  by  the  cultivator 
himself  for  the  waters  to  run  olV  after  having  deposited 
on  the  land  a  fertile  slime.  Thus  another  Kgypt  is 
gradually  forming.  Th.c  climate  of  lower  Louisiana, 
the  immense  river  which  runs  through  it,  the  sources 
of  which  have  been  for  so  long  a  time  unknown,  its  in- 
undations, its  falls,  its  embouchures,  the  neighbour- 
hood of  a  gulf,  will  unite  in  rendering  the  resemblance 
with  the  Delta  and  the  Nile  complete. 


i 


348 


THE  lUSTOKi 


However,  these  sub-marine  alluvions  at  its  moutli 
begin  to  obstruct  it  by  a  bar,  which  makes  the  entrance 
of  the  river  every  day  more  and  more  difficult.  To  ob- 
viate this  inconvenience,  it  is  proposed  to  open  a  ca- 
nal from  New  Orleans  to  the  gulf.  Large  ships  will 
be  able  to  navigate  it,  and  the  undertaking  offers  ad- 
vantages very  superior  to  the  expense. 

The  course  of  the  Mississippi  is  twelve  hundred 
leagues,  and  the  Missouri  fifteen  hundred,  of  the  Ar- 
kansas a  thousand,  and  of  the  Red  River  seven  or 
eight  hundred.  These  rivers  and  their  tributaries  wa- 
ter two  hundred  thousand  square  leagues,  within  the 
space  of  country  called  the  basin  of  the  Mississippi. 
This  internal  navigation,  prepared  by  nature,  has  al- 
ready been  wonderfully  extended  and  improved  by  ca- 
nals, excavated  by  the  labour  of  man;  and  steam-boats 
descend  and  ascend  against  wind  and  tide,  brave  tlic 
most  rapid  currents  with  more  speed,  and  with  more 
convenience  than  the  finest  roads  in  Europe  can  be 
travelled.  Wood  and  coal,  indispensable  agents  in  this 
navigation,  abound  on  the  shores  of  the  rivers,  and  the 
steam  engine  has  put  an  end  to  the  difficulty  of  com- 
munication, heretofore  one  of  the  greatest  obstacles 
that  were  ever  opposed  to  the  improvement  of  colo- 
nies. 

At  the  junction  of  the  Mississippi  and  Missouri,  the 
lands  lying  towards  the  north-west  are  of  admirable 
fertility ;  emigration  already  inclines  there,  and  these 
districts,  though  very  remote  from  the  sea,  will  one  da} 
be  as  well  peopled  as  any  other  country  of  the  woi'd 


3  moutli 
entrance 

To  ob- 
;n  a  ca- 
lips  will 
tiers  ad- 
hundred 

the  Ar- 
seven  or 
irics  wa- 
ithin  tlio 
ssissippi. 
,  has  al- 
(1  by  ca- 
[ini-boats 
•rave  the 
ith  more 
)  can  be 
its  in  tliis 
,  and  the 

of  com- 
obstacle-s 
;  of  cole- 

30uri,  the 
dmirablc 
.nd  these 

II  one  day 
c  wor'd. 


OP  LOUISIANA. 


;il9 


A  vast  plain  and  prairies  extend  beyond  tlie  Missouri 
and  Red  River,  following  the  base  of  the  great  chain 
which  separates  tlie  tributary  waters  of  tlie  Mississip- 
pi from  those  which  flow  into  the  Pacific  Ocean.  This 
valley  is  neither  a  perfect  level  nor  mountainous,  but 
IS  gently  undulating;  it  is  divided  into  spacious  plains 
where  only  a  few  streams  ilow,  the  waters  of  which 
are  remarkably  clear.  The  most  abundant  pasture- 
grounds  are  there  adorned  with  an  i!ifiiiite  variety  of 
flowers  and  flowering  shrubs.  Those  who  have  tra- 
versed this  country  have  admired  the  beauty  of  the  si- 
tuation, the  mildness  of  the  climiite,  the  excellence 
and  purity  of  the  air.  Very  few  Indian  villages  are 
to  be  seen;  but  there  are  numerous  flocks  of  buffaloes 
and  wild  bisons.  These  animals  keep  together  in  or- 
der to  defend  themselves  against  the  hunters,  who  only 
succeed  in  killing  the  stragglers.  There  are  sometimes 
five  or  six  hundred  of  them  together. 

This  district  is  not  subject  to  the  sudden  and  violent 
rains  which  between  the  tropics  fall  in  torrents  and 
destroy  the  productions  of  the  fields.  The  night  and 
morning  dews  are  suflicient  to  rctiesh  the  land  and  to 
supply  with  water  a  multitude  of  little  trenches.  But 
whether  it  be  the  conseciueiice  of  several  conflagra- 
tions, or  arises  from  some  other  natural  cause  still  un- 
known, large  tracts  of  country  are  to  be  seen  there, 
so  entirely  without  wood,  that  a  settler  couiu  not  find 
on  them  the  branches  and  bark  necessary  to  construct 
and  repair  his  cabin.  For  man}  days'  journey  not  a 
tree  is  to  be  found,  and  if  the  winds  brinu;  seeds  there. 


tl^' 


:\rA) 


THE  HISTORY 


1 


if  some  of  them  begin  to  shoot  up,  they  only  produce 
a  feeble  degenerate  shrub.  The  excellence  and  depth 
of  the  soil  make  this  singularity  inexplicable.  The 
country  in  question  is  scarcely  inhabited.  A  pastoifi! 
population  will  settle  there,  an  agricultural  one  Mill 
follow,  and  under  the  cllbcts  of  industry,  it  will  no  longer 
have  any  occasion  to  envy  the  advantages  of  other 

lands. 

A  few  Europeans  have  already  built  some  huts  there. 
They  do  not  yet  avail  themselves  of  the  plough;  it  ia 
enough  for  them  slightly  to  stir  the  mould,  which  l)a.s 
been  at  rest  for  many  centuries.  They  confide  the 
strain  to  it,  which  they  then  leave  to  nature,  by  whom 
they  are  liberally  recompensed. 

On  the  two  sides  of  the  river  Plate,  are  vast  plains 
of  sand  from  a  hundred  to  a  hundred  and  fifty  league' 
in  extent,  where  no  indication  of  living  creatures  is  to 
be  found.  These  arid  regions  bear  marks  of  the  pre- 
sence of  the  ocean  at  a  very  remote  period.  It  is  be- 
lieved that  its  waters  have  washed  the  base  of  tiic 
Rocky  Mountains,  at  the  foot  of  which  the  desert  ter- 
minates. 

To  the  south  of  this  district,  vegetation  has  resumed 
all  its  vigour.  The  Kcd  River  and  the  Arkansas,  in  a 
part  of  their  respective  courses,  intersect  these  fine 
countries  so  long  uninhabited.  The  ridges  from  which 
they  descend  are  covered  with  forests.  Every  year  the 
inundations  of  the  Red  River  tear  up  by  the  roots  ami 
carry  away  trees  of  an  extraordinary  size.  They  arc 
heaped  up  on  the  rocks,  which,  in  several  places,  ob- 


OF  LOUISIANA. 


:jr>i 


struct  or  contract  the  current  of  the  waters,  and  they 
have  formed,  even  above  the  bed  of  the  river,  a  natu- 
ral vault,  which  is  from  twenty  to  twenty-five  leagues 
in  length,  in  the  direction  of  the  river :  it  is  not,  how- 
ever unbroken,  but  tho  river  reappears  from  time  to 
time.  This  accidental  formation  must  have  com- 
menced several  centuries  ago;  for  a  new  forest  has  al- 
ready covered  the  rubbish,  and  one  may  cross  the  river 
on  these  bridges,  and  consider  himself  on  the  firm 
^'round.  The  lower  Mississippi  presents  the  same  sin- 
gularities. 

From  time  to  time,  subterraneous  noises,  like  dis- 
tant thunder,  arc  heard  in  the  valleys  i'.nd  extend  under 
the  bed  of  the  rivers.  Diflerent  reasons  arc  given  for 
this  phenomenon,  but  every  explanation  would  be  pre- 
mature, till  a  greater  number  of  observations  are  col- 
lected. 

The  Rocky  Mountains  olier  a  still  more  extensive 
field  for  conjecture.  These  peaks  touch  one  another 
at  their  bases,  and  form  a  chain  which  is  more  than 
three  hundred  miles  in  length.  The  summit  of  the 
largest  is  perceived  at  the  distance  of  one  hundred  and 
forty  miles.  Their  steepness  and  entire  nakedness  does 
not  leave  the  least  room  for  vegetation. 

The  clearing  of  the  land  frequently  leads  to  the  dis- 
covery of  considerable  heaps  of  bones.     Those  remains 
have  belonged  to  a  species  of  animals,  whicii,  accord- 
ing to  the  accounts  of  them,  must  have  been  two  or 
iirec  times  larger  than  the  elephant:  the  species  is  un- 


'X)'2 


TIIK  mSTORV 


t 


! 


known  at  this  day,  and  seems  to  have  wholly  disap- 
peared from  the  globe. 

Mineral  salt,  of  an  excellent  quality,  is  found  in  abun- 
dance in  a  great  many  places  at  the  surface  of  the 
earth.  In  ascending  the  Arkansas,  and  at  nearly  two 
hundred  leagues  from  the  great  village  of  that  name, 
are  the  salt  plains.  A  water  strongly  saturated  with  salt. 
soaks  thoroughly  in  the  ground,  and  penetrates  it  during 
the  damp  and  rainy  weather.  During  the  droughts  of 
summer,  it  forms  on  the  surface  a  solid  and  firm  layer  ol 
salt  of  from  two  to  six  in^nes  in  thickness.  Its  quality 
is  equal  to  that  which  is  obtained  by  artificial  crystalli- 
zation and  evaporation.  This  inexhaustible  treasure 
is  possessed  by  the  Osages,  who  were  for  a  long 
while  one  of  the  most  savage  of  the  Indian  tribes. 
They  plundered  the  caravans,  when  they  were  not  suffi- 
ciently numerous  to  defend  themselves,  and  continually 
alarmed  the  inhabitants  of  the  frontier.  In  the  mid- 
dle of  1825,  the  United  States  concluded  an  important 
treaty  with  them.  By  the  terms  of  it,  the  nation  of  the 
great  and  little  Osages,  cedes  to  the  United  States  all 
the  country  situated  west  of  the  territory  of  Arkansas, 
and  the  state  of  Missouri,  north  and  west  of  the  Red 
River,  south  of  the  Kanzas  river,  and  east  of  a  lino 
drawn  from  the  sources  of  the  river  Kanzas  througli 
the  Rock  Saline.  This  treaty,  as  well  as  several  others 
of  the  same  nature,  contain  stipulations  and  grants  ol 
land  in  favour  of  a  mixed  race,  the  descendants  ot 
French  and  Indians, 


OF  LOriSlANA, 


.'i.O.J 


A  part  of  the  salt  bed  lias  passed  under  the  sove- 
reignty of  the  confederacy.  A  day  may  come  when  its 
products  will  be  more  useful,  and  as  much  sought  after 
as  those  of  the  silver  and  gold  mines  of  Mexico. 

The  first  phenomena  observed  in  a  country  of  which 
only  the  rivers  arc  known,  and  in  which  the  popula- 
tion is  confined  to  their  shores,  do  not  present  any 
great  distinctions  between  the  physical  state  of  the 
new  and  old  world.  They  have,  however,  seemed  suf- 
ticicnt  to  render  it  doubtful,  whether  this  other  hemis- 
phere has  not  emerged  later  than  ours  from  the  bosom 
of  the  waters.  The  disorders  which  follow  a  great 
natural  revolution  are  so  much  the  more  evident  on 
the  surface  of  this  new  continent,  as  human  industry 
has  not  as  yet  done  any  thing  to  cause  them  to  disap- 
pear. But,  however  this  may  be,  a  new  career  in 
ail  branches  of  knowledge  has  been  opened  to  man- 
kind, and  we  may  predict  that  very  extraordinary  dis- 
coveries await  those  who  examine  the  interior  of  this 
country  in  search  of  the  productions  of  our  globe,  and 
to  study  its  revolutions. 

Caravans  of  Americans  crossing  arid  deserts,  have 
gone  with  wagons  from  the  village  of  the  Arkansas  to 
Santafe  in  Mexico,  in  twelve  days.  They  have  been 
liospitably  received  by  tlie  Mexican  officers.  The  po- 
pulation of  Santafe  passed  without  the  least  disturb- 
ance from  the  royal  government  to  a  republican  con- 
stitution. 

In  1724,  Charlevoix,  the  best  historian  of  our  disco- 
veries in  America,  confidently  asserted,  that  the  metal- 

15 


.j.il 


niF  IflslOHV 


lie  riches  promised  in  1721  to  tlio  partisans  of  Jiau'?^ 
system,  wcro  not  to  be  found  in  Louisiana.  Chai- 
Icvoix  was  probably  mistaken.  There  arc  some  indi- 
cations of  jL,^old  and  silver  mines,  and  if  the  prediction 
of  another  traveller  should  be  verified,  this  country,  be- 
fore the  lapse  of  a  century,  will  have  returned  to  the 
United  States  a  hundred  times  the  weight  of  gold 
which  it  has  cost  them.  Other  metals  of  every  kind 
arc  found  in  abundance  in  all  the  old  and  new  states. 
They  already  afford  facilities  for  the  developement  ot 
industry  to  a  degree  which  Europe  has  only  attained 
by  efforts  prolonged  through  many  centuries.  Agri- 
cultural riches,  disdained  a  hundred  years  ago,  arc 
now  estimated  at  their  proper  value,  and  they  have  in 
a  few  years  raised  the  inhabited  parts  of  this  country 
to  a  high  degree  of  prosperity.  If  the  metallic  trea- 
sures had  been  realized,  they  would  never  have  equalled 
those  which  arc  acquired  by  agriculture,  commerce, 
and  manufactures.  Twenty  years  of  good  government 
have  effected  what  ages  could  not  have  accomplished 
under  the  prohibitory  system.  General  and  local  inte- 
rests have  sprung  up  and  made  rapid  advances.  The 
population,  which,  under  an  absolute  government,  wa- 
stationary,  has  been  tripled  since  the  cession. 

The  lands  are  capable  of  producing  every  tliinn 
useful  to  man,  from  articles  of  primary  necessity,  to 
those  of  opulence  and  luxury.  Louisiana  has  been  en- 
riched by  the  disasters  of  St.  Domingo,  and  the  indik- 
try  that  formerly  gave  so  much  value  to  that  island. 
now  fertilizes  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi. 


OF  LOUISIANA. 


JfiO 


Since  the  end  of  the  last  ccntiny,  tlio  Louisianlans 
liave  begun  to  understand  better  the  riclics  of  the  soil 
that  tliey  possessed:  the  sugar  cane  was  then  cultivated 
in  the  gardens.  The  sugar  now  made  in  the  ceded 
territories  is  adequate  to  the  consumption  ol  ahnost 
jialf  the  United  States.  The  other  productions  of  the 
territory  have  made  proportionate  advances. 

The  temperature  of  Louisiana  is  tliat  of  the  coun- 
tries most  favoured  by  nature.     The  inconveniences 
inseparable  from  new  settlements,  the  dangers  from  the 
neighbouriiood  of  the  Indians,  diminish  in  proportion 
as  the  new  population  increases.     The  Indians  have 
even  taken  an  active  interest  in  an  important  branch 
of  commerce.    It  is  through  their  means,  that  heaps  of 
furs  of  every  kind  are  now  to  be  seen  on  the  quays  of 
New  Orleans.     The  errnine,  the  martin,  and  the  beaver, 
are  brought  there  from  the  higidands  on  the  north 
shores  of  the  Mississippi,  and  the  store  houses  in  whicii 
they  are  deposited,  likewise  receive  the  sugar,  the  to- 
bacco, and  the  cotton,  that  are  grown  on  the  southern 
borders  of  this  river.     New  Orleans,  which  was  found- 
ed in  1707,  and  which  languished  for  nearly  a  century, 
is,  after  enjoying  a  free  system  for  twenty-five  years, 
one  of  the  most  flourishing  cities  of  America.     The 
increased  facilities  of  its  intercourse  with  Europe  has 
diminished  the  price  of  all  kinds  of  morchundise  that 
the  colony  receives  from  thence,  and  it  pays  for  them 
by  its  own  crops  of  corn,  cotton,  and  sugar.     .Some  of 
Its  riches  are  obtained  without  etlbrt,  viz.  horses,  cattle. 


35(i 


IMK  IIISIOKV 


f 

iU 


"1 


!  5 


t^c,  wliicli  only  cost  tlio  trouble  ol  briiiguig  them  to 
market. 

TJie  lands  in  t!ie  interior,  whicli  were  sold  at  an  iii- 
significant  price  under  the  French  and  Spanish  domi- 
nion,  ac([uired  immediately  after  the  cession  a  consido- 
rablc  value.  Ancient  titles,  forgotten  for  a  century, 
were  searched  for,  and  it  was  in  the  archives  of  the 
French  colony  of  the  Illinois,  that  the  descendants  ot 
Plulip  Kenaud  found  the  document  contahiingthe  great 
grant  made  to  their  ancestor  by  the  Mississippi  Com- 
pany. It  includes  the  lead  mines  of  St.  Genevieve, 
which  are  so  abundant,  that  veins  and  heaps  of  the 
metal  are  obtained  by  only  digging  a  few  feet  in  the 
ground. 

Other  grants  were  made,  while  the  colony  was  sub- 
ject to  France  and  Spain.  J^ut  the  grantees,  though 
at  first  very  eager,  had  subse(|ucntly  neglected  their 
rights;  as  the  lands  soon  acquired  u  high  value  under 
the  republican  government,  this  indifi'erence  ceased, 
and  the  number  of  claims  was  rapidly  increased. 

The  small  planters,  for  a  long  time  humbled  by  their 
poverty,  have  since  the  cession  been  in  the  situation 
which  accompanies  an  easy  independence,  and  the  rich 
ones  have  probably  considered  themselves  lowered  by 
the  elevation  of  the  other  classes.  Their  opulence  and 
a  superior  education  had  given  them  an  importance, 
which  has  diminished  since  Ibrtune  and  instruction 
have  been  within  the  reach  of  all.  Mechanics,  rich  in 
consequence  of  their  industry,  capitalists  and  foreign 


ters 

Fren( 

struc 

the 

does 


hem  lo 

it  an  lu- 
ll donii. 
consiilo- 
ccntiiry, 
s  oftho 
ilants  ot 
lie  great 
)i  Coin- 
jiievievc, 
IS  of  the 
st  in  the 

was  sub- 
5,  though 
ted  their 
ue  under 
ceased, 
3ed. 

1  by  their 
situation 
j  the  rich 
wercd  by 
Icncc  and 
portancc, 
istruclion 
;s,  ricii  in 
d  tbreiun 


UF  LOLIblANA. 


:1;j7 


merchants  have  assumed  their  place  iii  a  chiss  previ- 
ously exclusive,  and  to  these  causes  is  perhaps  to  be 
attributed  the  dissatisfaction  of  a  few  great  proprie- 
tors, whose  influence  has  vanished.  The  inhabitants 
of  French  origin  have  not  as  yet  been  able  to  amalga- 
mate with  the  Americans.  The  two  races  retain  their 
habits,  and  carry  this  spirit  of  jealousy  even  into  the 
public  afl'airs. 

The  population  is  likewise  composed  of  Spaniards, 
English,  and  Germans:  the  dilibrence  of  language  and 
customs  keeps  them  separate.  I5ut  the  public  tran- 
quillity is  rarely  disturbed,  and  liberty  and  equality  will 
one  day  make  one  nation  of  these  [)copIe  of  heteroge- 
neous origin.  The  race  of  the  Indians  alone  persists 
m  keeping  separate  from  all  others.  Families  of  them 
appear  from  time  to  time  in  the  capital,  but  they  re- 
tain their  independence  and  their  indolence;  and  though 
still  deprived  of  the  enjoyments  of  the  social  state, 
they  have  no  longer  as  heretofore  the  advantage  of  be- 
ing ignorant  of  their  existence. 

It  is  only  requisite  to  pass  from  the  left  to  the  right 
bank  of  the  Mississippi,  in  order  to  find  other  customs 
and  inhabitants  that  may  be  ahnost  considered  as  be- 
longing to  another  species.  The  shepherds  and  plan- 
ters of  Opelousas  and  Attakapas  are  nearly  all  of 
French  origin.  They  are  in  general  without  much  in- 
struction, and  still  speak  the  French  of  the  time  of 
the  bucaniers;  but  the  rudeness  of  their  language 
does  not  extend  to  their  deportment:  they  are  of  mild 
manners;  hospitalitv  is  no  where  exercised  with  more 


f'H 


5lfi 


l|4 


3.08 


THE  HISTORY 


cordiality,  and  the  rusticity  which  is  blended  with  i* 
proves  its  sincerity  still  more  fully.  Here  the  luxury 
of"  the  city  has  entirely  disappeared,  and  the  cloth-loom 
is  oftentimes  the  only  ornament  of  the  drawing  room. 

Those  who  are  acquainted  with  Europe,  and  tin 
numberless  enjoyments  which  it  offers  to  all  ages  and 
ranks,  know  also  with  liow  much  wretchedness  thid 
luxury  is  accompanied.  At  Attakapas  there  is  no  mag- 
nificence, and  no  poverty.  All  are  happy  at  little  ex- 
pense, and  on  the  same  conditions.  The  dwellings 
in  this  settlement  are  very  much  scattered,  churches 
are  rare,  and  the  number  of  priests  is  very  small.  It 
is,  however,  observed  that  the  people  arc  extremely  re- 
ligious. The  head  of  the  family  is  its  spiritual  pastor. 
and  the  divine  morality  of  the  gospel  is  transmitted  to 
the  future  generation  by  the  discourse  and  example  ot 
men  who,  for  the  most  part,  cannot  read. 

All  the  unsettled  lands  that  had  not  been  granted  by 
France  or  Spain  became,  in  consequence  of  the  trea- 
ty, the  property  of  the  United  States.  They  had 
scarcely  taken  possession  of  Louisiana  when  they  soul 
out  exploring  parties  in  all  directions  to  examine  those 
western  regions,  which  geographers  still  distinguish  by 
the  name  of  unknown  countries  or  wild  deserts.  To 
explore  them,  to  traverse  them  was  in  some  so  t  to  ac- 
(|uire  the  sovereignty  of  theui. 

Jefferson  immediately  perceived  how  nnportani  it 
was  that  the  United  States  should  extend  by  laiid  to 
the  shores  of  the  Pacific  (^coan.  Some  parts  of  itb 
<.'0usts  wore  still  undiscovered  by  European  navigators. 


dF  1,0L'ISI\.N\. 


;i.')9 


id  with  1! 
he  luxury 
;loth-loom 
ng  room, 
and  tli€ 
ages  and 
dness  this 
s  no  mag- 
it  little  ex- 
dwellings 
,  churches 
small,  ft 
remcly  rc- 
:al  pastoi'; 
smitted  to 
example  ot 


Trantcd  by 
f  the  trca- 
They  had 
1  they  sent 
nine  those 
inguish  by 
scrts.  To 
so  t  to  ac- 

iportant  il 
>y  land  to 
larts  oi'  itb 
lavjgators. 


or  were  not  occupied  by  other  powers :  it  is  well  known 
that  they  all  considered  themselves  in  possession  of 
vast  countries,  when  one  of  their  officers  erected,  at 
the  place  of  landing,  a  llag-stalf,  on  which  he  wrote  the 
name  of  the  state  he  was  serving. 

Two  persevering  and  courageous  men,  Messrs. 
Lewis  and  Clarke,  were  intrusted  with  the  conduct  of 
the  first  expedition,  which  was  attended  with  truly  use- 
liil  results.  As  they  ibllowed  the  course  of  the  rivers, 
their  journey,  including  the  return,  extended  to  nearly 
four  tliousand  leagues.  A  new  world  was  in  some  sort 
discovered,  and  the  United  States  learned  the  import- 
ance of  their  acquisition. 

Another  exploring  party,  under  the  direction  of  Ge- 
neral Ashley,  ascertained  that  it  was  possible  to  cross 
the  Reeky  Mountains  towards  the  sources  of  the  River 
Platte.  The  formidable  barrier  formed  by  this  long 
chain  becomes  lower  in  this  place,  and  opposes  to  the 
communication  of  the  valley  of  the  Missouri  with  the 
Pacific  Ccean  no  more  obstacles  difficult  to  surmount. 

Conquerors  extend  their  states  by  war:  they  distin- 
guish their  reigns  by  the  blood  of  the  men  and  the  de- 
solation of  the  countries  which  they  subject.  They 
only  leave  after  them  the  remembrance  of  tlisasters. 
The  republic  of  the  United  States  is  enlarged  by  scnd- 
mjT  'reometers  and  men  of  science  to  a  distance  of 
liftcen  hundred  leagues.  It  establisiies,  without  any  ob- 
stacle, the  limits  of  its  peaceable  conquests,  and  se- 
cures by  good  laws  the  lasting  happiness  of  the  com- 


III! 


;iG(» 


r»F.  niSTOR\ 


I. 


Itjs 


munities  that  may  settle  witliin  them,  as  well  as  that  ot 
the  innumerable  i»enerations  that  arc  to  succeed. 

The  decrees  of  the  kings  of  Spain  were  the  only 
title  of  these  monarchs  to  countiies  where  their  sub- 
jects had  never  yet  penetrated,  and  which  were  five  or 
six  times  more  extensive  than  all  their  European  domi- 
nions. These  regions  were  only  .«  babited  by  tribes 
separated  by  great  deserts.  The  mother  country  had 
intended  to  treat  them  with  mildness.  Its  agents,  how- 
ever, too  much  disposed  to  believe  that  the  trade  of 
furs  and  other  merchandise,  sold  or  exchanged  with 
the  Indians,  was  their  own  patrmony,  granted  and 
farmed  out  the  privilege  of  carrying  on  this  trade,  and 
those  who  obtained  the  contract  abused  it  to  the  pre- 
judice of  the  natives.  The  latter,  instructed  in  this 
school,  became  in  their  turn  deceitful.  Acts  of  vio- 
lence, robberies,  and  assassinations  were  the  conse- 
quences of  this  bad  faith. 

The  independence  of  Louisiana  has  re-established 
the  intercourse,  which  so  bad  a  system  of  govern- 
ment had  interrupted.  Rich  cargoes  of  furs  annually 
arrive  at  St.  Louis,  which  arc  brought  from  the  coun- 
tries to  the  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  by  a  river  na- 
vigation of  twelve  hundred  leagues,  and  good  faith  ha- 
restored  confidence  to  these  same  savages  whom  fraud 
had  frightened  awav. 

France,  in  forming  this  colony,  had  imposed  on  it 
all  the  shackles  which  the  jealousy  of  commerce  j- 
capable  of  forging.    She  had  even  forbidden  the  rai?- 


OK  LOUISIANA. 


361 


\ng  of  corn.  The  Louisiana  planters  ean  now  culti- 
vate their  lands  according  to  their  own  interest  or  ca- 
price. They  have  themselves  proclaimed  the  hapj>i- 
iiess  whicJi  they  enjoy:  it  was  after  an  ex|)erience  of 
more  than  twenty  years  that  the  house  of  represen- 
tatives expressed  by  a  unanimous  resolution,  '•  its  ve- 
neration for  Mr.  Monroe,  and  its  gratitude  for  the  part 
which  he  had  taken  in  the  proceedings  that  united  Lou- 
isiana to  the  American  confederacy.'"* 

Mr.  Jetferson,  during  his  lifetime,  received  the  same 
marks  of  respect.  This  illustrious  citizen  having  died 
in  want,  the  senate  and  house  of  representatives  of 
Louisiana,  animated  by  a  just  sense  of  gratitude,  came 
to  the  succour  of  his  family.  [ 

Should  any  one  suppose  that  he  sees  in  the  account 
of  so  many  meliorations  a  picture  of  the  losses  which 
the  cession  has  occasioned  to  France,  wc  would  mere- 
ly observe  that  our  commerce  with  Louisiana  has  in- 
creased tenfold  since  that  colony  has  become  indepen- 
dent. 

It  was  not,  however,  till  it  had  passed  through  many 
trials,  even  after  the  cession,  that  the  country  attained 
this  high  degree  of  prosperity. 

The  peace  of  the  Union,  and  more  i)articnlarly  that 
of  Louisiana  was,  for  a  moment,  endangered  by  the 
bold  enterprise  of  one  of  those  men,  whom  great  qua- 
lities seem  to  destine  to  the  honourable  service  of  their 
country,  but  avIio,  to  satisfy  the  ambition  by  which  they 


I  Bin 


February,  1825. 


t  Appendix,  No.  lb 


46 


nil 

'ill  '(Wfll! 


ll 


362 


THF,  HI.-iTOKV 


arc  led  astray,  disregard  tlic  Iiappincss  of  their  native 
land.  Aaron  Burr  had  aspired  to  the  place  of  presi- 
dent of  the  United  States,  and  this  active,  enterprising, 
and  energetic  man  had  balanced  the  party  that  sup- 
ported Jefferson.  The  votes  had  been  at  first  equally 
divided  between  thcni.  His  wise  competitor  was,  how- 
ever, preferred. 

Burr  was  one  of  the  most  ardent  leaders  of  the  rc- 
pid)lican  party.  Hamilton,  a  distinguished  man  on  tin 
opposite  side,  knew  the  disorder  of  his  affairs.  He 
happened  one  day  to  say  publicly  that  Burr  was  a  man 
without  principle;  and,  as  he  declined  either  retracting 
or  explaining  his  words,  the  latter  challenged  him  to  a 
duel.  Hamilton  detested  this  practice,  which  has  de- 
scended to  us  from  barbarous  times;  he  went,  however, 
to  the  appointed  place,  saying  to  the  witnesses, "'  I  wil! 
receive  his  fire,  but  intend  to  fire  in  the  air."  He  foil 
by  the  ball  of  his  adversary. 

Burr,  the  murderer  of  one  of  the  best  citizens  ol 
America,  returned  to  preside  over  the  senate.  But 
this  unfortunate  event  had  destroyed  his  influence  even 
in  the  republican  party,  and,  after  the  first  four  years 
had  expired,  he  was  not  re-elected.  His  affairs  beco- 
ming worse  every  day,  he  gave  another  direction  to  liin 
cfTorts  for  re-establishing  them.  He  announced,  in 
1805,  a  great  plan  for  a  settlement  at  VVachitta  on  the 
shores  of  the  Mississippi.  He  concealed  under  this  pre- 
tended undertaking  a  project  which  he  had  confided 
to  a  few  adventurers  as  indiscreet  as  himself.  The 
f'nited  States  were  at  pc;  •  ••  witii  all  their  neiahbour' 


f4> 


OF  LOUISIANA. 


363 


!ir  nat.nc 
of  prcsi- 
jrprising. 
hat  sup- 
t  equally 
ras,  how- 

)t'  the  re- 
al! on  the 
lirs.  He 
as  a  mar. 
ctracting 
him  to  a 
1  has  dc- 
howcvei. 
s,  "  I  will 
He  Ibll 

itizcns  ol 
ite.  B'U 
nice  even 
3ui'  years 
lirs  beco- 
iou  to  iii^ 
unced.  in 
ta  on  the 
r  this  prc- 
confitled 
eli:  The 
iiahbuur^ 


and  Colonel  Burr  attempted  to  involve  them  in  war 
with  Mexico,  Vv'here  the  .Spanish  forces  were  very  su- 
perior to  those  which  the  United  States  then  had  in 
that  part  of  the  cntinent.  The  rumour  had  been 
spread  tiiat  the  Spaniards  iiad  crossed  the  Sabine,  and 
carried  their  arms  into  the  territory  of  the  United 
States.  Under  this  pretext,  those  who  engaged  in 
the  plot  said  that  the  honour  of  the  country  required 
that  reprisals  should  be  made  on  IVIexico,  and  this  de- 
sign was  but  too  generally  approved  in  Kentucky  and 
Tennessee.  It  was  there  that  Burr  made  his  prepara- 
tions to  descend  the  Mississippi  to  New  Orleans,  to 
pass  the  Sabine,  and  to  march  against  the  capital  of 
Mexico.  He  had  found  partisans  even  in  New  Orleans, 
among  whom  was  named  Mr.  Daniel  Clarke,  the  same 
Louisianian  who  had  appeared  at  Paris  at  the  period 
when  the  cession  was  made  to  France.  It  was,  indeed, 
asserted  that  there  w  ere  conspirators  in  the  two  houses 
of  conj^ress.  The  interests  of  the  western  states 
seemed,  in  fact-  to  have  assumed  a  new  direction  in 
consequence  of  the  treaty.  One  party  had  formed  the 
plon  of  a  division  of  the  United  States,  and  asserted 
that  the  line  of  separation  was  marked  by  the  Allegha- 
ny Mountains. 

This  plot,  w  hich  had  been  for  some  time  prepared, 
assumed  a  grave  character  at  the  end  of  HiOG,  and 
too  many  important  persons  were  engaged  in  it  for  it 
10  remain  a  secret.  As  early  as  the  month  of  Novem- 
ber, Jefl'erson  a[)prized  the  citizens  of  the  Union  that  a 
•riminaj  expedition  was  prepared,  that  arms  and  ships 


•<     B 


.11'  5f 


M')i 


nw.  in.sioia 


were  collected,  and  oflicers  commissioned.  Tins  vigi- 
lant magistrate  lound  in  congress  and  the  several  states 
all  the  support  of  which  he  stood  in  need;  and,  in  spite 
ot"  the  efforts  cf  the  factious,  the  plan  of  dissolving  the 
sacred  compact  of  the  Union  was  repelled  by  an  almost 
unanimous  sentiment.  It  may,  however,  be  conceived 
that  the  danger  had  been  imminent,  since  even  the  chief 
justice,  when  Burr  was  indicted  before  the  federal  court 
of  Kentucky,  dared  not  proceed  with  the  prosecution.* 

Far  from  being  intimidated,  Purr  continued  his  pre- 
parations, and  embarked  at  Nashville  on  the  22d  of 
December,  J  806,  but  he  was  arrested  and  brought  to 
Ilichmond  in  Virginia.  Accused  a  second  time,  he 
ultimately  escaped  a  capital  sentence  by  giving  bail. 
He  did  not  appear  to  answer  the  indictment,  and  fell 
into  a  sort  of  general  neglect,  from  which  his  talents 
might  have  raised  him,  had  it  been  possible  to  forget 
that  he  had  once  jeoparded  the  public  peace.  A  (cw 
years  afterwards  Louisiana  was  the  theatre  of  events 
of  greater  importance,  which  arc  connected  with  this 
history. 

The  United  States  had  just  made  the  world  aware 
that  F^lngland  had  new  rivals,  and  that  the  commerce 
of  the  globe  did  not  belong  to  her  without  competition. 
Her  apprehensions  were  increased  after  the  cession  ol 
Louisiana. 

The  intluoncc  of  the  violent  crisis,  which  Europe  ex- 
perienced soon  after  that  period,  became  so  extended 
about  the  year  IJJOiJ  that  it  was  iinpossiblc  that  the 

'  November  litli,  180G. 


Liiitcd 
ill  her  ( 
!icr  isol 
had  be( 
(jcnomi 
France 
j)lcs  est 
lions  in 
lound  t 
;ind  pul 
riic  po 
hdi  vcs 
obedieri 
three  b 
ments. 
was  vcr 
lion  we 
!o  their 
then  ap 
pccted 
ihc  rev 
the  thr. 
nas  tin 
try  of  t 
On  r. 
was  dir 
Amcric 
new  {)e 
ill  part 


( 


OF  LOUISIANA. 


:i6ii 


Lnited  States  should  not  feel  its  cllbcts.  England  had 
m  licr  orders  in  council  proclaimed,  without  disguise, 
her  isolated  and  absolute  maxims.*  On  all  sides,  she 
had  been  ansvvcred  by  acts  equally  hostile,  under  the 
denominations  of  ukases,  cedules,  and  decrees;  and 
France  invoked,  in  the  name  of  all  Europe,  the  princi- 
,)les  established  at  Utrecht,  as  the  rules  of  the  law  of  na- 
iions  in  relation  to  these  matters.  The  United  States 
•bund  themselves  involved  in  the  general  excitement, 
and  published  their  embargo  and  non-intercourse  acts, 
riic  ports  of  the  old  and  new  world  were  closed  to  Eng- 
ht'h  vessels,  as  much  on  the  principle  oi"  rej)risals  as  in 
obedience  to  Bonaparte.  England  had  to  snfler  from 
ilircc  bad  harvests,  which  completed  her  embarrass- 
ments. The  price  of  all  articles  of  the  first  necessity 
was  very  much  augmented.  Manufactures  and  naviga- 
lion  were  suspended,  and  internal  discontents  carried 
10  their  height.  Tlie  coalition  of  the  maritime  pou'crs 
then  appeared  to  her  truly  formidable:  but  two  unex- 
pected circumstances  changed  the  aspect  of  aflairs — 
the  revolt  of  the  Spanish  colonics  and  the  transfer  of 
the  throne  of  l*ortugal  to  the  I3razils.  A  new  career 
was  thus  opened  to  the  policy,  navigation,  and  indus- 
try of  the  English,  and  they  entered  on  it  with  ardour. 
On  recovering  their  liberty  of  action,  their  attention 
was  directed  to  the  cond\ict,  far  from  generous,  of  the 
American  government.  The  profits  obtained  by  this 
new  j)eopic,  in  the  trade  which  they  carried  on  with 
ill  parts  of  the  globe  which  were  then  accessible  to 

*  OrdiMS  ill  ((iiiiifil  (if  ISiir. 


)iM 


\l^- 


;ibi) 


Tin:  msTouv 


tlicir  seamen,  made  llie  Kiiirlisli  anticipate  and  drcui 
the  period  when  liieir  marine  uould  no  lon<'cr  be  able 
to  sustain  an  une((iial  stnii{gle,  and  connneicial  jealou- 
sy was  revived  more  actively  tiian  ever.  Tiieir  elForts 
were  not  ineflectual,  and  two  years  sufllced,  it*  not  to 
restore  to  England  all  her  preponderance,  at  least  to 
enable  her  to  rcassunie  a  high  rank  among  the  powers 
ol'tlie  world. 

The  Frencli  forces  had  evacuated  Portui2;al:  thcBri- 
tish  arms  had  obtained  signal  advantages  in  the  Fcnin- 
sula.  llus.'iia  had  emaneipaled  herself  liom  a  yoke  too 
hard  to  be  endured:  'Sweden  had  not  incurred  the  dis- 
grace of  it.  Other  powers,  it  is  true,  still  appeared  to 
bend  under  the  triumphant  arm  of  Napoleon:  but  tlicy 
assisted  him  with  rcluclancc,  fully  determined  to  tiiiii 
their  forces  against  iiim  on  the  first  iiivourable  oppor- 
tunity: and  he  alone  seemed  to  be  ignoraiit  of  their  se- 
cret understanding  with  iiis  declared  enemies.  It  was 
then  that  the  English  ministry,  tran(]uil  on  the  side  oi 
Europe,  supposed  that  the  moment  had  arrived  for  re- 
covering the  ascendency  that  they  had  possessed  in 
America. 

Cc'mada.  conijucred  by  England  fiity  years  before,  tor 
fhe  advantage  of  her  thirteen  continental  colonies,  wa,> 
useless  in  that  respect  since  their  independence.  Closed 
to  navigation  by  the  ice  during  a  part  ol  the  year,  and 
too  remote  from  the  English  colonies  in  the  gulf  of 
Mexico,  it  was  f.ir  from  occupying  the  place  of  tlio?c 
tliirteen  provinces  which  were  accessible  to  vessels  at 
all  seasons,  and  wliich  wc^'e  ^ich  in  grain,  in  cattle,  and 


OF   1,IJIM>I  V.S  V. 


:m 


and  drcfui 
cr  be  able 
ial  jcalou- 
icir  cllbrts 
i,  it"  not  to 
at  least  to 
he  powers 

il;  the  J)ri- 
the  Pcnin- 
a  yoke  too 
cd  the  dis- 
[)j)carcd  to 
II :  but  tlicy 
ed  to  turn 
ble  oppor- 
of  tlicir  SO- 
DS. It  was 
tlic  side  ol 
ivcd  for  rc- 
)sscsscd  ill 

before,  tbi 
lonies,  wa- 
cc.  Closed 
e  year,  and 
Lhe  cull  ol 
:c  ol'  thosc 
)  vessels  at 

cattle.  aii<' 


111  timber  lor  ship  bnibhiig.  New  Brunswick  was  slowly 
peopled.  Nova  Scotia,  oiu*  ancient  Acadia,  was  without 
doubt  of  great  importance  on  account  of  the  port  of 
Halifax.  Hut  these  countries,  a  feeble  counterpoise  to 
the  United  States,  showed  no  small  disposition  to  ren- 
der themselves  independent.  The  means  best  calcu- 
lated to  connect  them  in  interest  with  the  mother  coun- 
try, was  to  detach  Louisiana  from  the  confederacy,  to 
limit  the  United  States  to  the  Mississippi,  and  i)crliaps 
to  realize  the  great  project  formed  by  Louis  XIV.,  of 
uniting  Canada  to  Louisiana. 

The  conduct  of  the  French  government  had  not  a 
little  contributed  to  strengthen  the  English  party  in  the 
United  States.  The  right  of  capturing  and  confiscat- 
ing property,  which  Napoleon  attempted  to  exercise,  a 
light  till  that  time  unknown,  was  not  directed  solely 
against  his  enemies:  it  reached  the  mercantile  marine 
of  all  the  powers  that  did  not  effectually  resist  the  ar- 
bitrary rules  of  the  English  maritime  code.  According 
to  this  code,  merchandise  belonging  to  neutrals,  found 
in  an  enemy's  ship,  was  not  acquired  by  the  captors  of 
the  vessel.  But  if  merchandise,  the  property  of  an 
enemy,  was  found  on  board  of  a  neutral  vessel,  it  was 
good  prize.  This  jurisprudence,  which  the  simple  no- 
tions of  justice  do  not  recognise,  was  in  every  way  con- 
formable to  the  interest  of  a  people  that  arrogated  to 
themselves  the  empire  of  the  sea.  In  this  competition 
of  injustice  and  hatred,  the  mo^t  extraordinary  acts  on 
ihc  part  of  the  two  governmenis  succe^^^dcd  one  anotlier. 
Hiev  ordered  cxiiburgocj'.  and  de<;lavo4  v<>utrubund  ah 


mfi 


m 


' '  I ,, 


A'i 


!iii 


:|ii^! 


Il 


:i{)'ii 


Tilt,  lIlMoia 


I 


merchaudisc  that  was  not  j)rotcctod  by  Ibnnalilics  dil- 
licult  and  soinctiincs  even  iiiiposwible  to  be  executed, 
A  remedy  was  in  vain  sou<^ht  ni  niodilications;  the  lir.si 
measures  were  clianged  or  revoked,  but  tlie  revocation 
was  accompanied  by  conditions  that  only  made  the  si- 
tuation otthe  navigators  worse. 

To  tlie  peaceable  and  useful  intercourse  by  sea,  wlndi 
should  be  open  to  all  nations,  universal  piracies  were 
substituted.  The  most  iFUiocciit  navii!;ators  were  vie- 
tims  of  these  excesses.  The  exceptions  aggravated 
the  evil  and  augmented  the  general  loss  to  the  prolit  o! 
a  few.  Licenses,  ccrtiticates  of  origin  and  pcrnii." 
sions  to  trade  fraudulently  with  the  enemy,  on  con- 
dition of  exporting  certain  domestic  productions  were 
granted.  The  enemy,  in  its  turn,  prohibited  the  Jii- 
troduction  of  these  articles;  but  the  cargo  was  tiieu 
composed  of  merchandise  of  no  value,  and  thrown 
into  the  sea  during  the  passage,  so  that  both  the  or- 
der to  export  and  the  prohibition  to  import  wer( 
obeyed.  New  laws,  in  contempt  of  the  rights  of  ncii 
trality,  subjected  to  confiscation  every  neutral  vessel 
that  had  any  intercourse  with  the  enemy,  and  at  the 
same  time  the  ships  of  the  bclligerants  constantly  went. 
under  false  colours,  from  the  one  country  to  the  other. 

During  ten  years  of  war,  more  than  twenty  thoubaiu! 
licenses  were  annually  granted.*  ik\t  cupidity  sooii 
drew  greater  advantages  from  these  inventions,  and  ii 
has  been  stated,  that  the  oflicers  in  London  and  Pari.-- 

*  The  Ucpui  t  o!'  the.  Duke  of    liassano  of  the  lUth  of  Mairb 
1810. 


■i 


OF  LOUISIANA. 


309 


uilitics  (lil- 
executed, 
s;  the  lirsi 
revocation 
Lidc  the  .SI 

sca,Avhn;li 
acies  werr 
5  were  vic- 
iHgraviitod 
lie  j)rolit  o! 
id  pcrnu.^- 
y^  oil  cou- 
tioiis  were 
;cd  the  ill- 
I  was  tiicn 
iid  thrown 
:)th  the  or- 
iport  wer(; 
hts  of  iicii- 
itiai  vessel 
and  at  the 
;aiitly  went. 
the  other. 
y  thousand 
lidity  soon 
ions,  and  u 
and  Pari.- 

nil  of  Marfb- 


tiad  at  last  such  n  porfnrt  mutual  nndcrstandinir,  that 
this  coinmcrcc,  whicli  had  become  in  a  manner  reiru- 
Ifir,  even  in  the  midst  of  hostilities,  only  alVorded  pro- 
fits, which  were  faithfully  divided  amon^f  the  subordi- 
nate ofticer.s  employed  in  the  transaction. 

The  imperial  government,  indeed,  conceived  the  idea 
of  benefiting  the  treasury  by  those  fraudulent  transac- 
tions; but  England  denied  herself  this  source  of  reve- 
nue, and  prohibited  these  deceitful  practices.  What 
had  never  before  occurred,  she  forbade  tiic  trade  in  her 
own  production.'^,  and  the  licenses,  instead  of  being  a 
protection,  aft'orded  sufficient  grounds  for  pronouncing 
the  confiscation,  when  a  cruiser  found  them  on  board 
of  its  prize. 

At  the  same  period,  the  Amorican.s  protiessed  and 
practised  rules  whoso  justice  and  moderation  are  ad- 
mitted by  all  who  have  meditated  on  the  laws  of  na- 
tions. But,  after  having  enjoyed  as  neutrals  the  pro- 
fits of  a  commercial  navigation,  that  was  almost  uni- 
versal in  its  extent,  they  became  the  principal  victims 
of  those  violent  proceedings.  The  number  of  vessels 
which  they  lost  in  less  than  eight  years  is  estimated  at 
two  thou.sand  five  hundred,  of  which  five  hundred  and 
thirteen  arose  from  prizes  made  by  the  French,  and 
nine  hundred  and  seventeen  from  ca^  lures  by  the  Rng- 
hsh.  The  others  were  the  prey  of  the  allies  of  the  two 
belligerant  states. 

Such  was  the  deplorable  condition  of  the  commerce 
of  the  Americans  at  a  time  that  they  desired  to  be  at 
peace  with  all  nations. 

47 


f 


iliit 
ill  I 


I 


I 


I  ;l 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


/^_ 


'^ 


4t 


1.0 


I.I 


I4i»28     125 

|50     ''^"       ■■■ 

^  1^    122 

ui   Kg 

18. 


IL25  i  1.4 


I 


1.6 


Hiotographic 

Sciences 
Corporation 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  MS80 

(716)  872-4503 


\ 


:\ 


\ 


€> 


v^ 


6^ 


'^ 


I 


4' 


370 


1  IIJ.  UI>IOKY 


The  Kiiglish  liad  rnnsnd  the  Amonrans  by  putting 
forward  pretensions,  with  an  arrogance,  that  was  found- 
ed on  the  false  opinion  that  so  feeble  and  timid  an  ad- 
versary would  not  dare  to  make  resistance.  They  at- 
temi)ted  to  subject  American  ships  to  an  examination 
on  tlie  liigh  seas,  and  even  in  neutral  ports.  They  had 
invented  the  new  principle  of  an  imaginrry  blockade, 
which  all  the  navies  in  the  world  could  not  have  rea- 
lized. This  rule,  unknown  even  in  the  times  of  ex- 
treme barbarism,  was  no  longer  limited  to  places  real- 
ly blockaded,  or  to  the  carrying  of  munitions  of  war 
to  an  enemy;  it  embraced,  by  an  absurd  fiction,  im- 
mense countries,*  and  extended  to  the  most  innocent 
communications  with  neutrals.  France  attempted  to 
repel  it  by  a  blockade  equally  chimerical,  but  accom- 
panied by  measures  more  ofTertual  for  excluding  all 
English  merchandise  from  the  continent.  Napo'coii 
declared  that  he  would  not  permit  any  flag  going  from 
the  ports  of  F^ngland  to  enter  those  of  France,  and. 
according  to  the  British  orders  in  council,  no  inter- 
course could  take  place  with  France  except  through 
the  ports  of  England.f    These  two  powers  competed 

*  In  May,  1H0(3,  the  continent  from  tlic  Elbe  to  Brest  was  ile- 
claioil  in  ;i  stale  of  blockade. 

t  "  Sutli,'"  said  tlic  J}iiti:,h  minister,  Mr.  Percival,  "will  be  out 
law  of  reprisals  as  lo)ij>;  as  the  coiitiiuMital  system  is  maintained.'' 
The  principal  secretary  of  state  of  His  Hritannic  Majesty  was  at 
Paris  in  the  month  of  May,  1814.  This  plenipotentiary,  speakiii;^ 
of  the  crisis  which  England  had  just  experienced,  said:  "Bona- 
parte brought  us  within  two  inches  of  our  destruction."  He  pro 
bably  made  the  same  remark  to  others,  as  well  as  to  the  author  ut 
this  hi«torv. 


OF  I.OUrSlANA. 


37  J 


f  putting 
IS  lound- 
id  an  ad- 
Tliey  at- 
mination 
Phey  had 
►lockade. 
avc  rea- 
DS  of  ex- 
-ces  real- 
is  of  war 
tion,  iin- 
innocent 
npted  to 
\  accom- 
Liding  all 
»fapo'eon 
ing  from 
ice,  and. 
no  inter- 
tlirougli 
:ompcted 

st  was  tie- 
will  be  oiu 
lintained."' 
sty  was  at 
r,  speakiii!^ 
1:  "Bona- 
Ile  pro 
e  author  et 


With  one  anotlier  in  infiicting  injuries  on  tlic  Ameri- 
cans, in  order  to  force  them  to  dei)art  from  their  neu- 
trahty.  The  French  envoy  at  Washington  wislied 
again  to  unite  the  two  nations  by  treaty.  The  Eii<ir. 
lish  minister  made  similar  eHbrts  to  effect  an  alliance 
with  his  country,  and,  at  the  same  time,  increased  the 
irritation  of  the  puuHc  mind  by  the  haughtiness  of  his 
language  and  liis  insulting  proceedings. 

Tlie  Americans,  liowevcr,  foresaw  that  Kiighuid, 
once  reheved  from  her  European  war,  would  fall  on 
the  United  States  with  all  her  strength.  Tiiey  knew 
that  if  the  English  principles  should  prevail,  their  ma- 
ritime commerce,  the  most  nourishing  in  the  world,  al- 
ter that  of  Groat  Britain,  would  be  entirely  ruined.  In- 
formation was  daily  received  of  new  aft'ronts;  they  even 
went  so  far  as  to  press  sailors  from  on  board  of  Ame- 
rican ships  ot  war  and  force  them  to  spill  their  blood 
for  a  cause  which  was  foreign  to  them.  The  public 
indignation  increased.  80  many  violent  acts  exciied 
the  strongest  suspicions,  and  the  best  citizens  were  ac- 
cused of  treason.  The  truth  is,  that  the  government, 
calculating  on  the  duration  of  peace,  had  neither  land 
Ror  naval  forces;  a  few  ruined  forts  did  not  present 
even  the  phantom  of  a  defence.  To  declare  war  sud- 
denly against  the  English  seemed  a  desperate  resolu- 
tion, and  yet  the  government  was  induced  to  it  by  cir- 
cumstances that  became  every  day  more  serious. 

The  English  in  Canada,  taking  imi)roper  advantage 
of  their  proximity,  had  by  means  of  presents  and  soli- 
citations excited  the  savage  tribes  to  lay  waste  the 


III    ., 


ill 


J72 


im:  HlalOHV 


frontier.  For  several  years  a  silent  discontent  liaU 
been  remarked  in  tlie  nortliern  states,  and  the  separa- 
tion of  the  confederacy,  which  had  been  so  long  a 
source  of  only  distant  appreiiension,  became  every  day 
more  to  be  dreaded. 

Powerful  states  have  no  more  solid  foundation  foi 
their  greatness  and  prosperity  than  justice  and  mode- 
ration. These  rules,  at  the  same  time  so  useful  aiiJ 
of  such  easy  application,  and  which  in  consequence  ot 
their  very  wisdom  have  become  common-place,  were 
particularly  adapted  to  Kngland,  where  so  many  pub- 
lic men  invoked  with  good  faith  the  laws  of  efjuity  and 
respect  for  treaties  and  the  rights  of  others. 

The  practices  of  the  governor  of  Canada  will  tlicii 
be  learned  with  astonishment.  Under  the  pretence  o! 
good  neighbourhood.  Sir  James  Craig  attempted  to 
kindle  civil  war  in  the  United  States.  ■  An  able  and 
bold  intriguer,  by  the  nmw  of  Henry,  succeeded  in 
gaining  the  confidence  ol  ..  .s  governor.  Craig  sent 
him  to  Boston  and  the  northern  states,  in  order  to  en- 
gage in  a  plot  some  persons  of  consideration  among 
the  federalists. 

He  instructed  him  to  observe  the  parties,  so  as  to 
form  as  correct  an  opinion  as  possible  respecting  the  re- 
sult of  an  open  struggle  between  them.  He  was  to  ne- 
glect nothing  to  eflect  a  schism,  and  to  ascertain  whc^ 
ther  the  federalists  would,  if  it  took  place,  apply  to 
England  and  be  disposed  to  unite  their  interests  with 

-January  26tl),  1S09. 


that  pi 
precau 
corresj 


by  me, 
uny  c( 
make 
which, 
at  Que 

Hen 

portan 
!iG  had 
assurai 
of  that 
Canad 
they  ni 
his  arr 
the  int' 
he  wri 
agains 
ancc  ^ 
gress  ( 
The 
Persu£ 


Ob    LOLIsI.VNA. 


:i7 


t* 


tent  Imd 
3  sepfira- 
3  long  a 
ivery  day 

ation  ibi 
(1  mode- 
sct'ul  and 
ucncc  ol 
ce,  were 
any  pub- 
luity  and 

ivill  tiieii 
3tence  o! 
nptcd  to 
able  and 
leded  in 
•aig  seni 
er  to  en- 


a  among 


30  as  to 
g  the  ic- 
IS  to  nC' 
ain  wlie- 
apply  to 
sts  with 


that 


He  liad  beci 


idcd  with  a  cipher,  and 


power. 

precautions  were  taken  to  secure  the  secrecy  of  the 
correspondence.  Craig  even  signed  instructions,  and 
Iclivorcd  to  him  a  sort  of  letter  of  credence,  which  he 
was  authorized  to  show  to  those  who  were  sufficiently 
open  in  their  communications  to  merit  such  a  mark  of 
fonfidencc.     It  was  couched  in  the  followmg  terms: — 

••  (Sf. Aj,.)  The  bearer  Mr.  .John  Ifcnry  is  c^^ployed 
by  me,  and  full  confidence  may  be  placed  in  him  for 
my  communication  which  any  person  may  wish  to 
make  to  me,  ///  the  bushtcss  commitkd  to  him.  In  faith  of 
which,  I  have  given  him  this  under  my  hand  and  seal. 
at  Quebec,  this  0th  day  of  February,  1800. 

'•J.  H.  CiiAic." 

Henry,  thus  empowered  to  act,  commenced  his  im- 
portant mission.  In  less  than  a  month,  he  conceived  that 
he  had  made  sufficient  progress  to  give  the  governor 
assurances  that,  in  the  event  of  a  war,  the  inhabitants 
of  that  part  of  the  state  of  Vermont,  which  borders  on 
Canada,  would  refuse  obedience  to  congress;  and  that 
iliey  might  be  considered  allies  of  Great  Britain.  On 
his  arrival  at  Boston,  his  hopes  having  increased  with 
the  information  that  he  had  collected  on  the  journey, 
he  wrote  to  him  that  Massachusetts  would  declare 
against  the  general  government,  and  that  open  resist- 
ance would  be  made  by  the  establishment  of  a  con- 
gress of  the  eastern  states. 

The  agent  pursued  his  design  with  some  address. 
Persuaded  that  as  the  northern  states  w'crc  devoted  to 


t  hn 


^  \ 


371 


IHF,  HISTORY 


commerce,  and  those  ol'  the  south  were  agriculturai. 
such  discordant  interests  could  not  fail  to  separate 
them,  lie  concluded  tliat  whether  they  were  enemies 
of  England,  or  on  good  terms  with  her,  a  dissolution 
of  the  confederacy  could  not  but  be  favourable  to 
the  policy  of  the  l^ritish  cabinet.  He  saw  in  it  tin; 
guarantee  of  the  preservation  of  (Janada  and  Nova 
Scotia;  and  concluded  thfit  the  jealousy  of  the  two 
parties  would  ultimately  render  the  induence  of  Vav^- 
land  so  powerful  tl:at  the  states,  though  free  in  name, 
would  in  fact  be  dependent  on  her.  "  Another  revolu- 
tion,*' said  he,  "  must  be  brought  about  in  this  coun- 
try, in  order  to  overturn  the  only  republic  whose  v\- 
istencc  would  prove  that  a  government  founded  on  po- 
litical equality  could  secure,  in  the  midst  of  tumuli- 
and  dissensions,  the  happiness  of  'x  nation,  and  b(!  in 
a  condition  to  repel  foreign  attacks.  It  should  then 
be  the  particular  object  of  Great  Hritain  to  fostoi 
divisions  between  the  north  and  the  south,  and  extin- 
guish any  remaining  attachment  for  France.  By  suc- 
ceeding in  this,  she  may  carry  into  eflbct  her  own  pro- 
jects in  Europe,  with  a  total  disregard  of  the  resent- 
ments of  the  American  democrat?.  Her  superiorit\ 
at  sea  will  enable  her  to  dictate  to  the  ship-owners  of 
the  north,  and  even  to  the  agriculturists  of  the  soutli. 
whose  productions  would  be  of  no  value  if  our  naval 
forces  prevented  their  exportation." 

A  part  of  the  predictions  of  this  emissary  were  sub- 
sequently verified,  and,  when  war  was  declared,  Ma?-- 
sachusetts  mfnsed  to  put  her  militia  at  the  disposal  of 


i)b"  I.Ol  ISIANA. 


;{7;» 


iculturai. 
separate' 

enemies 
ssoliition 
irablc  lo 
in  it  tlif; 
nd  IS  ova 

the  two 

of  En";. 
in  name. 
r  revolu- 
lis  coun- 
horso  cx- 
j(l  on  po- 

tunnih- 
nd  be  in 
}uld  tlioii 
to  Ibstci 
lid  cxtiii- 

By  suc- 
own  pro- 
e  rcseiil- 
iperioiit} 
iwners  of 
lie  soutii. 
m  naval 

/ere  siib- 
cd,  Ma.^- 
^posal  of 


liic  United  States.     H< 


atriotic  sentiments  in 


/ever 
llic  end  prevailed,  eveu  among  the  iederalisls,  and 
Henry  at  last  discovered  that  the  menaces  ol"  separu- 
tioii  could  never  be  realized. 

Alter  having  resided  five  months  in  the  United  States, 
lie  returned  to  Quebec,  only  bringing  back  iiom  his 
journey  the  information,  little  favourable  to  the  Eng- 
lish system,  that  the  love  of  country  and  of  liberty  was 
the  governing  principle  of  the  whole  population.  His 
mission  was  without  result:  lie  had  compromitted  tlic 
governor  of  Canada,  and  as  his  promises  were  not  ac- 
complished, his  employer  seemed  little  disposed  to 
fulfil  those  that  had  been  made  to  him. 

Jlenry  valued  his  services  at  ;J2,()()0  pounds  sterling. 
Craig  heard  his  reclamations,  but,  obliged  to  fail  in 
his  promises,  he  induced  him  to  apply  to  the  Bri- 
tish government.  At  J^iondon,  ho  was  told  that  the  af- 
fair concerned  the  governor  of  Canada,  and  that  he 
should  be  recommended  to  the  successor  of  Sir  James 
('raig. 

But  good  ollices  of  this  sort  arc  almost  always  bad- 
ly requited  by  a  successor.  Henry  understood  that 
the  British  government  wished  to  get  rid  of  his  impor- 
tunities, and  wearied  with  ineffectual  solicitations,  and 
irritated  at  the  contempt  with  which  he  was  treated 
he  conceived  the  project  ol  taking  vengeance  of  those 
who  had  deceived  him.  He  came  lo  Washington  in 
1H12,  and  discovered  to  the  American  government  the 
whole  secret  of  his  mission,  placing  in  its  hands  the 


i 


J7ti 


IHK  HI^.TUKV 


original  ilocumcnts,whiclitlie  English  niniisters  had  in 
vain  attempted  lo  withdraw  from  him. 

By  bringing  forward  the  charge  himself,  he  became 
})rotectcd  from  all  judicial  prosecutions;  but  it  was  ol 
such  great  importance  to  tiic  United  States,  that  Pre- 
sident Madison  did  not  hesitate  to  communicate  it  to 
the  senate.  He  had,  at  the  same  time,  the  prudence  to 
avoid  all  investigations  and  proceedings  which  could 
compromise  the  Americans  who  had  engaged  in  cri- 
minal communications  with  Henry;  and  he  confined 
himself  to  establishing,  "that  Great  Britain  had,  in 
the  midst  of  peace,  and  of  amicable  professions  lor 
the  United  States,  attempted  to  bring  about  a  dissolu- 
tion of  tl  0  Union,  and  to  involve  their  citizens  in  the 
horrors  of  a  civil  war."'  These  facts,  thus  discovered, 
were  made  public  through  the  journals.  To  divide 
the  states  into  two  factions,  and  to  excite  a  civil  war 
was  the  greatest  oflence  which  it  was  possible  to  com- 
mit against  them. 

The  English  minister  at  Washington  solemnly  dis- 
claimed having  had  the  least  knowledge  of  the  mission 
of  Henry,  and  expressed  his  conviction  that  from  what 
he  knew  of  ikosc  branches  of  his  government^  with  whicli 
he  was  in  the  habit  of  having  intercourse,  no  counte- 
nance whatever  was  given  by  them  to  any  schemes  hos- 
tile to  the  internal  tranquillity  of  the  United  States.  13ut 
the  very  form  of  this  justification  badly  disguised  hostile 
projects,  and  the  hand  of  the  English  always  appeared 
in  every  circumstance,  where  they  could  have  any  hope 


of  dct 
of  whi 
discov 
party, 
from  a 
(Tovcri 
those 
with  t 
comm 

VVai 
June, 
cong;( 
tho  pe 

Fro 
forts  tl 
neglec 
and  pr 
they  w 
vernm 
thing 
their  s 
facts  t 
comm 
aggrai 
tible  V 
of  the 
stance 
have  ; 


OF  LOUISIANA. 


3/  / 


ers  had  m 

2  became 
;  it  was  ol 

that  Pic- 
cate  it  to 
udence  to 
lich  could 
Dcl  in  cii- 

confined 
ti  had,  ill 
5sions  for 
a  dissolii- 
!ns  in  the 
scovered, 
■"o  divide 
civil  war 

3  to  com- 

mnly  dis- 
e  mission 
om  wiiat 
th  which 
)  countc- 
mcs  hos- 
tes.  But 
id  hostile 
ippearcd 
my  hope 


of  detaching  from  the  Union  countries,  tJio  acquisition 
of  whicli  would  lor  ever  strengthen  their  power.  This 
discovery  gave  extraordinary  strength  to  the  republican 
party,  and  the  partisans  ol  the  j)arcut  state,  relieved 
from  apprehension  by  the  prudent  resolution  which  the 
government  adojited  of  making  no  inquiry  respecting 
those  who  had  taken  part  in  Jfenry's  intrigues,  united 
with  the  true  friends  of  their  country.  The  oflicial 
communications  ceased  on  the  0th  of  June. 

War  was  declared  a  few  days  afterwards,  (18th  of 
June,  1812,*)  and  this  resolution  was  less  the  work  of 
congi'ess  than  the  consequence  of  the  resentment  of 
tho  people. 

From  this  moment  the  Union  made  incredible  ef- 
forts to  obviate  the  inconveniences  occasioned  by  long 
neglect.  Congress,  to  all  the  dispositions  of  vigour 
and  prudence  required  by  the  circumstances  in  whicli 
they  were  placed,  united  means  which  Eurojieun  go- 
vernments do  not  always  employ.  They  concealed  no- 
thing from  the  people  with  regard  to  the  dangers  of 
their  situation,  and  proved  to  them  by  a  multitude  of 
facts  that  England,  considering  the  United  States  as  her 
commercial  rivals,  also  regarded  their  happiness,  their 
aggrandizement,  and  their  independence  as  incompa- 
tible with  her  prosperity;  in  a  word,  they  informed  them 
of  the  causes  and  justice  of  the  war,  with  the  circum- 
stances of  wiiich  the  most  inconsiderable  citizens  might 
have  acquainted  themselves  as  fully  as  the  ministers  at 

*  Appendix,  No.  ir. 
•IS 


1  i    :M5>. 


|| 


ml 


37a 


IIIK  IlIfllOR^ 


the  head  of  alFairs.  l*iil)hc  si)ecclic?<.  pninph1et.«,  ami 
newspapers  exposed,  with  pi.Tfect  sincerity,  tlie  luolivci- 
for  liaviuii  recourse  to  arms,  and  tlic  necessity  of  a  \i- 
jjorous  defence.  Kven  tlie  instructions  that  hnd  hecn 
given  to  tlie  envoys  and  ministers  were  made  puhlic, 
From  tlic  simple  htl)0!!-'»-  <<>  tlic  lirst  mui^istrate.  tVoiii 
the  admiral  to  the  mo.^i  i...  i^nificant  sailor,  all  knew 
that  tlie  dearest  interests  ol"  their  eonniiercc  and  na- 
vigation were  in  ([nestion,and  this  appeal  to  the  honuui 
of  the  flag  was  for  them  neither  vain  nor  deceptive:  it 
expressed  a  sentiment  truly  national. 

The  Knulish  fj^overnment  at  first  directed  its  attcii- 
lion  to  Canada,  and  made  arrangements  for  assuming 
the  offensive.  It  also  turned  its  views  to  the  ea:-;tcni 
coasts  of  the  Union.  Tiie  Americans,  on  their  side. 
had  been  fully  aware  that  it  would  be  impossible  for 
them  to  resist  the  efforts  of  so  formidable  a  power 
without  a  great  change  in  tfeir  naval  tactics,  and  tlicy 
had  entirely  reformed  their  system  of  ship  building. 
They  had  increased  the  size  and  force  of  their  frigates 
the  calibre  of  their  guns,  and  strengtiiened  their  crews 
in  proportion. 

It  is  well  known  with  what  violence  this  war  wa.t 
conducted  on  the  part  of  the  English.  Slaves  were 
armed  agninst  their  masters  or  carried  off  and  sold  to 
the  West  India  colonists;  the  Indians  massacred  all  the 
inhabitants  of  tlic  frontiers  who  had  delayed  making 
their  escape;  cities  and  defenceless  places  were  given 
up  to  pillage  or  as  a  prey  to  the  flames.  The  result?^ 
of  this  struggle  are  also  known.    Europe,  which  hud 


:.l  tir.- 
in  e\< 
astoni 
naval 
I'reque 
rase  \ 
The  \\ 
fcdera 
I'encel 
Am 
cxperi 
has  b 
gates 
icvcra 
Lawrt 
tostetli 
jierior 
But  til 
grcatc 
wood 
lake, 
struct 
lish  si 
planki 
Cana< 
eat 
Th 


great 


•  It 

liou  of 
Ivin^sl 


)IilctH,  nm 
10  iiiotivt'.- 
ty  of  a  \i. 
liJid  hccii 
tic  puljlic, 
rale,  IVoiii 
,  all  kncu 
)  and  iia- 
ii;  hoiioui 
M'plivo:  it 

its  attcii- 

assuniiiiL: 
ic  earstcrn 
heir  side, 
issiblc  for 

a  power 
,  and  they 

building, 
r  friiiate.-. 
leir  crewb' 

war  wa- 
ves were 
id  f^old  to 
ed  all  the 
I  making 
)re  given 
)c  rcsnlt^' 
liich  li.'iil 


l)t'  I,OLI:ilA\.\. 


:i79 


:d  first  seen  iu  tin;  rosistattcc  of  the  Atuenr.aMs  only 
an  excess  ol"  audacity  ami  iniprud<>n((\  learned  with 
astonishment  that  tliev  had  appeared  as  equals  in  the 
naval  engaircinents,  in  which  they  were,  mdecd,  more 
frequently  the  victors  than  the  van(piishcd  party.  The 
case  was  not  tiie  same  on  the  American  continent. 
The  war  was  not  carried  on  with  ability  l)y  either  the 
federal  or  Knglish  armies.  Canada  remained  in  a  de- 
fenceless state. 

Among  a  great  number  of  faults,  for  which  even  iii- 
e.vperiencc  could  not  all'ord  an  ;ipology.  the  following 
lias  been  cited.  The  entire  frames  of  two  lari^c  fri- 
gates  were  sent  from  r.iigl-.ind  to  (^Jiehec  on  board  of 
several  vessels.  'I'liev  were  foruarded  by  the  river  St. 
Lawrence  to  Lake  Ontario,  where  they  were  to  be  {)ut 
together  and  com|)leted.  It  was  expected  that  this  su- 
perior force  would  easily  destroy  the  American  llolillas. 
But  the  v,''ier  party,  on  their  side,  built  a  vessel  of  still 
greater  strength.  'I'hey  employed  for  the  purpose  the 
wood  of  the  fine  Ibrests  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the 
lake.  Only  three  months  were  re(pi!red  for  its  con- 
struction, and  their  vessel  was  sailing  when  the  Eng- 
lish ships  were  still  in  the  yard  without  deck  or  side 
planks.*  England  would  have  inevitably  lost  L'pper 
Canada,  if  the  Americans  had  not  likewise  eonmiitlcd 
great  faults. 

The  English  themselves  v.ere  astonished  at  not  ob- 

"  It  was  stated  in  |»arliamoiit.  in  .Fidy,  1828.  tliat  tlio  tian«^|)<trta- 
lion  of  the  materials  of  ono  of  the  two  frigate's  troni  Mi'ircreai  to 
K.ii\^^stou  ha.d  (.'.'st  oO.OiX'  ixnuiO'^  'iteiJin^- 


I 


I 


'nHfl< 


11 


i 


1. 1 


I  ; 


i 


3H() 


TJir:  uirfToRv 


tainini,'  any  advantajrc  over  tlicir  former  colonics-, 
when  the  aspect  of  alVairs  in  l^iropc  entirely  changed, 
Tlicy  had  subdued  Na|)oleon,  their  implacable  enemy, 
The  numerous  armies  whicii  Wellinirton  had  com- 
manded were  now  unemi)loyed.  Considerable  forces 
could  at  last  be  directed  against  the  United  States,  and 
brilliant  successes  were  to  efl'ace  unexpected  humilia- 
tions. Until  that  time  f.ouisiana  hnd  been  at  peace. 
Admitted  into  the  great  confederacy  a  long  time  after 
the  war  of  independence,  the  Louisianians  wanted  that 
glorious,  though  melancholy  consanguinity,  which  re- 
sults from  victories  obtained  by  connnon  efibrts.  They 
unexpectedly  learned  that  their  country  was  about  to 
have  its  turn  in  the  perils  of  the  war. 

The  precautions  required  for  defence  had  been  still 
more  neglected  there,  than  in  any  other  part  of  the 
United  States.  It  was  easily  believed,  that  a  peace 
which  had  endured  for  a  century  would  not  be  dis- 
turbed, and  New  Orleans  had,  to  defend  it,  only  a  few 
men  barely  adequate  to  the  purposes  of  police. 

The  English  were  aware  of  this  situation  of  things, 
but  foreseeing  that  other  states  of  the  Union,  that  were 
more  populous  and  better  trained  to  war  might  hasten 
to  the  defence  of  the  place,  they  formed  the  plan  oi 
keeping  them  back  by  combining  an  attack  on  the  side 
of  Canada  with  the  one  which  they  directed  by  sen 
against  New  Orleans. 

England  assigned  fourteen  thousand  regular  troops  to 
the  expedition  by  the  gulf  of  Mexico.  Such  a  force 
is  consiidcrcd  very  great  in  that  country,  and  the  pil- 


colonics. 

changed. 
Ic  enemy, 
lad  com- 
jIc  forces 
tales,  and 
1  huniilia- 
at  peace, 
linne  after 
mted  that 
which  rc- 
•ts.   They 

about  to 

been  stili 
irt  of  tlic 
a  peace 
>t  be  dis- 
mly  a  few 
;e. 

Df  things, 
that  were 
ht  liasten 
e  plan  ol 
n  the  side 
3d  by  sea 

troops  to 
1  a  force 
1  the  PH- 


OK  LOl  Ibl  \.\.\. 

iagc  of  New  Orleans  was  announced  to  the  army  as  a 
magniliceut  recompense  for  its  (hinu;erH  and  toils.  In 
fact,  the  crops  of  cotton  and  other  rich  |)roductions 
of  these  vast  countries  were  stored  in  tliis  city,  it  be- 
ing the  limit  and  cntrepiit  of  the  navigation  of  the 
Mississippi  and  Missouri.  The  Knglish,  Ijowevcr,  in 
aiming  at  the  conquest  of  Louisiana,  did  not  announce 
ihe  intention  of  keeping  it.  Tiiey  even  pretended 
tliat  they  only  wislied  to  take  it  from  the  United  .States, 
in  order  to  restore  it  to  Spain  at  the  price  of  a  few 
advantageous  stipulations  for  their  islands.  It  appears 
more  certain  that  they  likewise  calculated  on  the  inac- 
lion,  and  perhaps  on  the  concurrence  of  the  northern 
states  of  the  Union,  where  they  still  had  partisans. 

One  would  wish,  that  the  history  of  a  great  and  il- 
lustrious nation  should  never  recall  any  events  unwor- 
thy of  its  glory.  But  culpable,  not  less  than  glorious 
actions,  fall  within  the  province  of  true  history. 

One  circumstance,  in  particular,  shows  to  what  a  de- 
gree England  conceived  herself  interested  in  wresting 
from  the  confederacy,  the  countries  which  it  had  re- 
cently acquired,  and  in  preventing  its  dominions  ex- 
tending to  the  right  bank  of  the  Mississippi. 

After  the  conclusion  of  treaties  with  the  Indians  to 
arm  them  against  the  United  States,  the  Eni^lish  olfi- 
cers  sought  one  of  those  alliances  which  the  law  of 
nations,  the  law  of  all  civilized  people,  condemns. 
British  commanders  had  no  hesitation  in  treating  with 
a  community  of  pirates  then  well  known,  who,  they  bc- 


i| 


i 


!i 


i' : 


ii  ;ii ' 


3»2 


Tin;  uisioKV 


licvcd,  would  oppose  an  additional  oi).staclc  to  the  na- 
vigation and  conniiorcc  of  ll»c  Americans. 

Till  that  time,  the  government  of  Louisiana  iiad 
neglected  to  take  possession  of  some  islands  near  the 
Lake  of  Baratariu  and  the  mouths  of  the  Mississippi, 
After  having  been  for  a  long  time  inhabited  by  mere 
jfishermen,  pirates  seized  on  them,  and  established 
their  quarters  there.  These  sea  robbers  had  as  their 
chief  a  man  of  the  name  of  Lafitte;  his  bravery,  his 
activity,  and  his  piracies,  but  too  well  recalled  the  ex- 
ploits of  the  bucaniers  who,  a  century  before,  had  ex- 
ercised their  infamous  trade  with  impunity  in  the  gull 
sea.  They  respected  no  flag,  not  even  that  of  the 
United  States.  In  the  course  of  two  years,  more  than 
one  hundred  merchant  ships  became  their  prey.  Alter 
having  pillaged  their  cargoes  and  murdered  their  crews. 
they  burnt  the  vessels  and  kept  the  commerce  of  thcst 
seas  in  continued  dread. 

William  H.  Percy,  commanding  the  f^nglish  forces 
in  the  gulf,  gave  orders  to  Oiie  of  the  officers  on  his 
station  to  hasten  to  J^aratarja,  in  order  to  enter  oii 
negotiations  with  Laiitte.*  If  this  chief  refused  to 
commit  hostilities  against  the  United  States,  the  officer 
wap,  while  he  stipulated  at  all  events  for  neutrality,  to 
request  him  to  join  the  English.  Percy  even  wrote  to 
Lafitte  to  urge  iiim,  "  to  enter  with  his  naval  and  mili- 
tary forces,  into  the  service  of  the  king  of  England." 

*  Auirusi  oOtli.  1814. 


The  s 
them 
Ed\| 

cars, 

banl^ 

vig'iii 

of  Lo 

\nier 

rcstor 

oi'  a 

Amer 

reign. 

cienti 

the  sc 

niaint 

^ippi. 

Laf 
isiani.' 
indigr 
ing  th 
trcasc 

Th 
proce 
tions 
to  re 
great 
in  sig 
sistan 
with  I 
nhicl 


0  tlic  nu- 

iuna  had 
i  near  the 
ississippi. 

by  mere 
itablislicd 

as  their 
[ivcry.  liis 

1  the  e.\- 
I,  had  e.\- 

the  gull 
it  of  the 
iiore  than 
)V.  After 
:ir  crews. 
:  of  tho^c 

ih  ibices 
s  on  hit 
enter  oii 
ifuscd  10 
10  olliccr 
rahty,  to 
wrote  to 
ind  niiii- 
nglaud." 


OF  LOUImI\.>.\. 


383 


The  skill  of  these  pirates  in  the  use  of  cannon  rendered 
them  valuable  auxiliaries. 

F'dward  Nichols,  one  of  the  principal  English  offi- 
cers, in  a  j)roclaniation  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  left 
biivl  jf  the  Mississippi,  promised  them  the  free  na- 
viii^'ition  of  the  river.  Then,  addressing  the  natives 
of  Louisiana,  he  said  to  thcn^i:  "Put  an  end  to  the 
American  usurpation  over  this  country,  that  it  may  be 
restored  to  its  legitimate  proj)rietor.  i  am  at  the  head 
oi'  a  numerous  body  of  Indians;  \vc  will  make  the 
Americans  return  to  the  limits  prescribed  by  my  sove- 
reign."' This  was  tiic  same  thing  as  saying  in  suffi- 
ciently clear  terms:  "The  dominion  of  England  over 
the  seas  of  America  is  at  an  end,  if  the  United  States 
maintain  themselves  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Missis- 
sippi." 

I^afitte  and  his  band,  in  which  there  were  some  Loii- 
isianians,  rejected  these  overtures  of  the  English  with 
indignation.  These  men  saw  no  dishonour  in  enrich- 
ing themselves  by  plunder,  but  they  had  a  horror  of 
treason. 

The  government  of  the  state  was  hiformed  of  these 
proceedings,  and,  having  no  knowledge  of  the  disposi- 
tions of  the  13aratarians,  considered  it  to  be  its  duty 
to  reduce  them  by  arms.  A  flotilla,  collected  with 
great  despatch,  sailed  from  New  Orleans,  and  was  soon 
ui  sight  of  Barataria.  The  pirates  prepared  for  re- 
sistance; but  vigorous  demonstrations  inspired  them 
with  so  much  fear  that  they  abandoned  the  nine  ships 
wiiich  coiijposcd  their  marine.    They  dispersed,  and 


3«l 


THE  HISTORY 


their  storc-houpcs,  vessels,  and  a  considerable  booty 
fell  into  the  power  of  the  y\nicricans.* 

Lafittc,  who  had  escaped,  wrote  from  his  place  o( 
retreat  to  Governor  Claiborne,  and  sent  him  the  oii"i- 
nals  of  the  corre?;pondcncc  Vviiii  the  British  officers. 
He  proposed,  at  the  same  time,  to  surrender  himself, 
This  confidence  appeared  to  require  tliat  indulgence 
should  be  shown  to  tiiis  man  and  his  party,  and  a  par- 
don, grounded  on  the  services  which  he  had  rendered, 
was  announced  to  him,  and  a  few  months  after  grant- 
ed in  the  name  of  the  United  States. 

Congress,  informed  of  the  danger  of  T^ouisiana,  di- 
rected all  its  attention  to  that  quarter.  It  had  learned 
to  appreciate  the  importance  of  this  province,  and  no 
one  would  then  have  dared  to  repeat  what  some  had 
said  at  the  period  of  the  cession,  that  the  territories 
beyond  the  river  w'crc  only  a  troublesome  burd  mi.  All 
admitted  that  the  object  of  England,  when  she  under- 
took to  make  this  ( onqucst,  was  to  limit  the  extent  ot 
the  states,  to  balance  their  influence  m  tlie  general 
affairs  of  America,  and  to  prevent  their  becoming  a 
preponderating  jiower. 

In  the  summer  of  UH  1,  the  English  landed  a  few 
troops  upon  the  Spanish  territory  of  the  Floridas,  and 
all  their  movements  announced  an  early  attack  on 
Louisiana.  There  were  in  this  state  neither  troops 
nor  a  general;  the  local  bank  had  suspended  its  pay- 
jncnts.     Love  of  country  seemed  frozen  at  the  ap- 


>^eptcmbor  ^:otli.  KSH. 


OF  LOnSlANA. 


'MiCt 


iblc  bootv 

5  place  ol 
llic  ori"i. 

li  officers. 

!!•  himself. 

ndiilgciicc 

11  id  a  par- 
rendered. 


ter  grant- 


isiana,  di- 
id  learned 
:c,  and  no 
some  liad 
territories 

•CMl.       All 

he  undcr- 
cxtent  ol 
e  general 
:oming  a 

cd  a  few 
idas,  and 
ittack  on 
er  troops 
d  its  pay- 
;  the  ap- 


proach of  an  army  still  intlatcd  with  the  successes 
which  it  had  met  with  in  Europe.  To  reanimate  it  re- 
quired one  of  those  men  whose  appearance  creates 
resources  and  raises  courage.  Such  a  man  was  found. 
He  was  Andrew  Jackson,  a  major-general  in  the  Ameri- 
can army.  On  his  arrival  at  New  Orleans,  he  was  nei- 
ther alarmed  at  Hnding  great  consternation  there,  nor 
in  learning  that  some  English  emissaries  wevc  carrying 
on  their  intrigues  in  the  very  bosom  of  the  legislative 
a,ssembly.  At  the  sound  of  his  voice,  committees  were 
formed,  a  city  peopled  with  merchants  and  planters 
changed  in  a  day  the  habits  of  a  century.  An  extra- 
ordinary activity  took  the  place  of  an  inexcusable  ne- 
gligence. Expresses,  arriving  in  succession  from  the 
upper  country  of  the  IMississippi,  announced  that  a  po- 
pulation of  two  millions  of  iidiabitants  would  not  allow 
themselves  to  be  subdued,  and  that  imposing  forces 
were  about  to  descend  the  river.  The  decisive  mo- 
ment apj)roaclied.  J^y  the  first  day  of  December,  the 
Knjilish  had  on  the  coasts  of  ] Louisiana  one  hundred 
and  forty  vessels  of  all  sizes,  among  which  were  several 
.fhips  of  the  line,  '^^riiey  brought  a  numerous  flotilla, 
through  difficult  passes  and  the  lakes  in  its  neighbour- 
hood, to  within  a  very  short  distance  of  the  capital. 

In  the  mean  time,  the  .'■juccour  which  had  been  pro- 
mised and  was  expected  at  New  Orleans,  did  not  arrive. 
The  English,  informed  that  this  city  had  scarcely  more 
than  two  thousand  men  in  arms  to  oppose  to  them,  ad- 
vanced towards  it,  and  were,  on  the  2.kl  of  December, 

at  only  four  leagues  distance.     Calculating  on  fears 

■i'j 


3}Jb 


I  Itl",   »il>  J Olli 


whicli  no  longer  cxistod.  and  on  their  number.^,  winch 
could  be  at  a  nio.nenfs  warning  increased,  they  bud 
taken  none  ot  the  precaution.s  ibat  prudence  rc(]un'cs 
in  an  enemy's  country.  Jackson  proiiled  by  this  secu- 
rity.  His  little  army  was  formed  of  Louisianians,  re- 
solutely determined  to  defend  themselves  with  courage, 
tliougbuninitiaied  in  war.  of'Tennesseans,  excellent  riilc- 
mcn,  and  a  battalion  of  free  coloured  people,  emigrant.-: 
from  .St.  Domingo.  This  militia,  of  various  origin,  no 
longer  funned  but  one  people.  A  battalion  that  w  ishetl. 
however,  to  retain  the  name  of  Orleans  was  composed 
of  men  of  the  two  nations.  No  rivalry  disturbed  their 
good  understandinii'.  A  detachment,  marching'  out  ol 
the  city  at  night,  fell  suddenly  on  the  enemy's  camp. 
killed  four  hundred  men.  and  retired  with  little  loss. 

This  bloody  lesson  warned  the  English  of  the  neces- 
sity of  awaiting  tiie  reunion  of  their  forces.  The  de- 
lay aflbrded  time  to  the  Kentucky  militia  to  arrive,  and 
on  the  4th  of  January,  IMI.^  they  entered  the  city  to 
the  number  of  two  thousand  two  hundred  and  fifty 
men,  but  scarcelv  one-third  of  them  had  broufdit  arm.;. 
They  were  not,  however,  useless.  An  old  canal,  seven- 
teen hundred  yards  in  length  commencing  at  a  cypres,> 
marsh,  terminated  ou  the  left  bank  of  the  ^Mississippi. 
in  a  direction  perpendicular  to  the  river.  These  mcu 
raised  a  rampart  behind  this  canal,  and  called  it  Jack- 
son's lines. 

An  express,  sent  from  Quebec  to  the  commander  oi 
the  English  army,  informetl  him  that  the  severity  of  the 
season,  and  the  daniier  of  too  luneh  weaKcnina-  the 


)rs«,  wliicii 
tliey  liiid 
D  requires 
this  secu- 
^iiiaiis,  re- 
I  courage, 
illont  rifle- 
emigrant.-: 
origin,  no 
It  wished. 
*>oijiposcu 
'bed  their 
Mg  out  ol 
rs  camp, 
c  loss, 
he  neces- 
Thc  tle- 
•rivc,  and 
ic  city  to 
and  filiy 
;,dit  arm,-, 
al,  seven- 
i  cyprcsi 
ssissippi. 
cse  nicii 
I  it  Jciclv- 

lander  ol' 
ity  of  t lie 
iiiuix  the 


or   LUllMlANA. 


:i87 


Canadian  army,  would  prevent  the  garrisons  in  that 
country  Irom  ujakin.'i:  the  promised  diversion. 

On  the  8t!!  of"  .January.  1  Ml."),  tlie  English,  liaving  re- 
assembled all  their  forces  with  the  exception  of  two 
thousand  men,  who  had  crossed  to  the  right  bank  of 
the  river,  advanced  in  columns  against  the  lines.  A  few 
of  the  bravest  reached  them,  after  having  made  for 
themselves  a  road  by  filling  the  ditch  with  fascines  of 
sugar  cane.  They  were  all  killed.  This  day  was  to 
decide  the  fate  of  Louisiana.  Ten  or  eleven  thousand 
combatants  began  the  general  attack,  at  daylight,  with 
intrepidity,  but  with  a  rashness  and  improvidence  for 
which  their  chiefs  were  inexcusable.  The  fiic  of  the 
Americans  made  terrible  carnasfc  in  their  cohnnns. 
Ti'ey  fell  back  a  moment,  but  were  twice  brought  up 
to  tiiC  assault,  thouuh  without  success,  and  the  jjjenc- 
ral-in-chief,  Packenham,  remained  on  the  field  of  bat- 
tle the  victim  of  his  in^prudcnt  valour.  The  affair  only 
lasted  an  hour,  in  tliis  short  space  of  time  the  Kng- 
lish  lost  nearly  three  thousand  men.  The  Americans 
experienced  scarcely  any  loss.  The  defeat  of  an  army 
of  fourteen  thousand  brave  men,  well  disciplined,  and 
exercised  in  a  long  Fvaropean  war.  was  the  work  of 
four  thousand  militia,  hastily  levied,  and  armed  with 
fowling  pieces,  which  to  that  day  had  never  been  used 
lor  the  purposes  of  war.  Their  enemies,  made  ac- 
quainted at  their  own  expense  with  the  energy  and  rc- 
.sources  of  a  free  people,  that  defend  their  own  fire- 
sides, and,  informed  that  the  city  was  about  receiving 
now  succours,  feared  that  thev  would  soon  have  to  re- 


i  I  -,:;f 


•m\ 


ini,  111:5 1  uK\ 


siat  the  population  of  the  west,  wliich  Irom  all  quarters 
was  flocking  to  the  common  defence.  Tiie  diversion 
made  on  the  right  bank  experienced  scarcely  any  re- 
sistance on  the  part  of  the  Americans,  and  yet  it  could 
not  second  the  principal  attack  on  the  left  of  the  river, 
The  English  seriously  contemplated  a  retreat,  and,  on 
the  19th  of  January,  Lambert,  who  had  become  gcnc- 
ral-in-chief,  declared  that  they  abandoned  the  expedi- 
tion against  New  Orleans.  'J'hc  campaign  only  last- 
ed a  month,  but  it  settled  for  ever  the  fate  of  Lou- 
isiana. 

The  Icgisi- ture  of  the  state  solemnly  thanked  the 
troops  of  1  ennessee,  Kentucky,  and  Mississippi.  Tiic 
name  of  General  Jackson  was  not  included  among 
those  to  whom  the  approbation  of  the  assembly  ex- 
tended. This  ingratitude  arose  from  the  resentment 
of  a  few  delegates.  At  the  moment  of  peril,  Jackson 
had  made  use  of  violence  against  several  citizens;  but 
this  disregard  for  the  laws  had  preserved  the  province 
and  we  cannot  consider  that  as  a  crime  which  ensured 
its  safety.  Perhaps  he  was  even  excusable,  while  the 
public  mind  was  still  very  much  agitated,  to  pyolong 
after  victory  the  dictatorship  that  he  had  assumed.  He 
had  likewise  suspended  the  power  of  the  legislature; 
and  this  violation  of  the  public  rights  is  the  one  whicli 
most  keenly  wounds  and  irritates  a  free  people.  Ho- 
nourable marks  of  approbation,  emanating  from  con- 
gress, repaired  the  injustice;  thanks  were  voted  to 
him,  as  well  as  to  his  army.  The  government  acknow- 
ledged, in  express  terms,  that  the  dilficulties  iad  been 


1  quartern 
diversion 
ly  any  re- 
st it  could 
the  river, 
t,  and,  on 
•nic  gcnc- 
c  cxpcdi- 
only  last- 
)  of"  Loii- 


.nked  the 
ppi.  Tlic 
d  among 
imbly  c.\- 
!scntment 
,  Jackson 
zens;  but 
province 
li  ensured 
while  the 
>  prolong 
ined.  He 
[^islaturc; 
»nc  whicli 
)lc.  lio- 
rom  con- 
voted  to 
acknow- 
iad  been 


OF  LOLlslANA. 


.i»9 


unprecedented,  and  that  it  would  be  unjust  to  use  se- 
verity against  one  who  had  secured,  even  by  illegal 
acts,  the  triumph  of  liberty.*  Congress  likewise  ex- 
pressed their  high  esteem  for  the  patriotism,  fidelity, 
and  valour  with  which  the  people  of  Louisiana  had 
defended  all  their  political  and  social  rights.  They 
praised  the  benevolence  and  humanity  manifested  not 
only  by  the  succours  given  to  the  wounded  of  the  Ame- 
rican army,  but  also  by  the  generous  care  bestowed  on 
the  prisoners  taken  irom  the  enemy. 

Thirteen  years  aftorwaids,  .Jackson  returned  to  New 
Orleans,  invited  by  the  legislature  of  the  state,  and  was 
received  there  v,ith  joy  and  gratitude.  Tlie  period  of 
the  election  of  a  president  of  the  United  States  having 
arrived,  some  Louisianians  endeavoured  to  secure  him 
the  votes  of  the  state.  J3ut  one  of  his  best  friends 
thus  combated  the  proposition:  "Services  in  a  parti- 
cular department,  however  eminent,  do  not  afford  a 
title  to  universal  confidence.  If  we  were  asfain  obliged 
to  defend  our  country,  sword  in  hand,  we  would  with 
one  voice  call  .Fackson  to  the  chief  command.  But, 
us  we  enjoy  a  profound  peace,  the  suflVages  of  Lou- 
isiana for  the  supreme  presidency  should  be  given  to 
a  citizen  endowed  with  the  virtues  ol"  peace."' 

During  this  important  election,  each  j)arty  jiuts  for- 
ward the  pretensions  of  its  candidate,  and  severely 

*  liCttcr  from  Mr.  Dallas,  actliij^  secretary  of  war  to  (ieneral 
Jackson.  Mr.  John  Qiiincy  Aihiuis,  now  at  tlie  end  of  liis  presi- 
dential term,  lias  likewise  bonic  the  same  testimony  to  his  ser- 
vices. 


I  :;  Jl  j 


ii 


:m) 


THK  IIISiORY 


scrutinizes  the  lilb  ot"  liis  competitor.  Looking  to  tiic 
violence  of  the  animosities,  some  are  alarmed,  and 
consider  thcni  tiie  precursors  of  an  approaching  sepa- 
ration between  the  northern  and  southern  states.  Hut 
each  party  exists  in  the  interior  of  all  the  states,  and 
the  clamours  are  aj)peascd  as  soon  as  the  new  presi- 
dent is  named.  Up  to  the  day  that  we  are  writing,  the 
votes  arc  pretty  equally  divided  between  Mr.  .Joliii 
Quincy  Adams,  now  president,  whose  re-election  is 
powerfully  supported,  and  Andrew  Jackson,  eminent 
by  his  great  services.  We  shall  know  in  a  very  shon 
time  whether  the  finalities  of  the  warrior,  and  a  cou- 
rage superior  to  all  obstacles,  will  be  preferred  to  the 
modest  virtues  which,  with  less  (k/at^  have  secured  the 
happiness  of  !hc  nation.  Ijut  whatever  may  be  the  re- 
sult of  this  domestic  contest,  the  wisdom  of  the  con- 
stitution is  a  guarantee  as  well  for  the  moderation  of 
the  general  as  for  the  firmness  of  the  ma^'strate.* 

The  English  ministers  were  still  ignorant  of  the  re- 
sult of  the  expedition  against  Louisiana,  when  they 
opened  at  Ghent  negotiations  for  peace:  they  were  ter- 
minated by  a  treaty  which  contains  an  implied  renun- 
ciation of  that  conquest  even  in  case  it  had  been  made. 
It  was  signed  on  the  "iUh  of  December,  181 1,  fifteen 
days  before  the  deliverance  of  New  Orleans.  The  pre- 
cipitation with  which  it  was  concluded  left  many  im- 
portant points  undecided,  and  it  was  only  in  the  montli 


*  General  Jaclc'soii  was  elected  picsiileul,  and  inaugurated  in  thai 
olTice  on  lh.>  A{\\  ol'  Marcli.  l.8'?o Tiiansl. 


Ob    LOLlblANA. 


.{5)1 


ng  to  the 
tned,  and 
ling  scpii- 
tes.     liiii 
tatcs,  and 
icw  prcsi- 
riting,  the 
iMr.  Jolui 
lection  i< 
,  eminent 
very  shoil 
id  a  cou- 
•ed  to  the 
!cured  the 
be  the  le- 
f  the  con- 
eration  of 
rate.* 
of  tlic  rc- 
I'hen  thev 
were  ter- 
ed  rcnun- 
cn  made. 
1 1.  fifteen 
The  prc- 
many  ini- 
le  month 

•ated  in  tiiai 


of  September,  I  {{27,  that  .several  new  articles  were  sct- 
Ucd  by  plenipotentiaries  of  the  two  nations.* 

*  Mr.  (iallatin  (llllill^■  liis  missioii  to  Krisl.Mid  in  iy'2(I-r,  con- 
cluded f'jiir  conventions  uith  tlio  plt'nijxitL'ntiarics,  spocially  ap- 
|)ointt'd  to  no;;,oliato  w'nli  tlie  rnited  States,  namely,  Mr.  lliiskis- 
son,  to  wlioni.  on  his  ro,si;riiation  in  tiic  sunnncr  of  18;2rjMr.  Grant 
was  substituted,  anil  Mr.  Addin2;toii. 

1.  A  convention,  signed  the  l.U!  •)!'  November,  lH'2t),  by  which 
S5l,'2-4(),9(i()\\ere  paid  to  the  I'nited  States  in  lieu  oi  their  dcmandsj 
under  the  1st  article  of  the  treaty  of  (ihent. 

The  claims  for  slaves,  Sic.  taken  away  at  the  peace  of  181.T,  had 
been  referred  to  the  K uperor  of  liussia,  who  j^ave  in  18'2'2  an 
.iward  conformal/le  to  ihe  American  construction  of  the  treaty  of 
(ilient;  but  new  dilUcultics  havin;^  aiisen  in  carrying-  this  dccisi  .n 
into  eft'ect,  it  was  agreed  by  the  I'nited  States  to  accept  a  gross 
•liin,  to  be  by  them  distributed  to  their  citizens. 

2.  A  convention,  signed  tlie  (uli  of  August,  18'-2r,  to  continue  ii» 
force  the  commercial  convention  of  1815,  originally  made  for  four 
vears,  and  extended  in  1S18  to  ten  years  from  that  time. 

It  regulates  the  trade  between  the  I'nited  States  and  (.ireat  liri- 
lain,  including  her  possessions  in  the  Kast  Indies.  Jiy  its  provi- 
sions, as  mentioned  in  a  previous  note,  equality  of  duties  is  esta- 
blished on  American  and  Hrilish  vessels  in  the  respective  ports  of 
tbo  two  countries.  AN'e  are  also  allowed  to  trade  wilii  the  principal 
:^i'ttlements  in  the  East  Indies,  our  vessels  paying  in  tiic  permitted 
ports  no  higher  or  other  duties  than  the  most  favoured  European 
nation.  By  the  9A  article  of  the  cummercial  convention  of  1827,  it 
IS  competent  for  cither  party  to  annul  it,  on  giving  twelve  months' 
notice. 

3.  A  convention,  signed  on  the  same  day  vvitli  the  one  last  men- 
tioned, to  continue  in  force  the  third  article  of  the  convention  of 
1818. 

By  the  article  referred  to,  it  had  been  agreed  that  the  country 
daimcd  by  eiUier  party,  westward  of  the  Stuny  Mountains,  should 
be  free  to  both  powers,  without  prejudice  to  their  respective  claims, 
for  ten  years.  The  new  convention,  concluded  by  Mr.  Gallatin, 
•  xtends  indefinitely  the  term  of  joint  occupancy,  but  contains  the 
?ame  provision  as  die  comuK'niul  cnuvention,  permitting  citlier 
party  to  put  an  end  to  it,  on  giving  to  the  other  twelve  niouth^^' 
notice. 


'  |l  l>*v 


i  l>d( '.  il 


I 


I-'!  "sift. 


:}92 


Tin;  rii>'i()io' 


The  war  Imd  cost  many  lives  to  the  t\\ o  conntni.-. 
It  added  tlirec  lunidred  niiHions  ol"  dollars  to  the  dc  bt 

An  attempt  was  made,  l)ut  without  success,  to  settle  a  iumiii.v 
nent  boumlaiy  l)etwecri  tlie  United  States  and  (ireat  Britain  cm  ihv 
Pacific  Ocean.  The  tlistussion,  h(»wevcr,  induced  the  plenipoten- 
tiaries ol'  the  two  powers  to  phice  on  ie(  uid  '-taletnenis  of  their  rc- 
speitive  chiiins,  wliidi  were  aft;i(hed  to  tiie  prot()c«)ls  of  their  (.tL 
and  7th  conferences,  and  laid  before  coiiijress  at  tlic  session  nl 
I8^r-S.  As  one  of  the  principal  points,  on  which  the  ri^ht  of  tin 
Fnited  States  is  maintainf^d,  grows  out  of  the  Louisiana  treaty,  tin 
sul)iect  natural  I V  cunnccts  itself  with  the  present  histoiv. 

It  is  remarked,  at  th(,'  commencement  of  the  liritinh  paper,  thai 
"from  the  4i2d  to  the  41)th  dej^ree  north  latiuidi'.  the  Tnited  Staler 
claim  full  and  exclusive  sovereij;;nty.  (iridf  liritain  claivhs  jio  ex- 
elusive  HOvcrcij;)Uii  orer  muj  pni'l'um  of  Ihaf  Icrrifori/.  Uvv  pre- 
sent claim,  not  in  respect  to  any  part,  but  to  the  wliole,  is  limittd 
to  a  ri^ht  of  joint  occupancy  in  conmon  with  other  states,  leaxiii: 
the  right  of  exclusive  dominion  in  aljeyuMce.*' 

The  49th  degree  of  north  latitudi*  was  proposed  by  the  Ameri- 
can government  as  a  boundary  in  the  spirit  of  comprtimise,  it  be 
'uv<i  conceived  that  the  ^re!e^^i(>ns  of  the  l^'iifed  States  exleiiil 
much  farther.  'Ihey  r.rc,  liowe\er,  prevented  i»y  the  conveiilioii 
with  Russia  from  forming  sellleineuts  nortii  of  54 '  40'. 

The  claims  of  the  United  States,  as  cxaminetl  by  the  Ihitisi: 
plenipotentiaries,  result,  1st,  from  their  own /^ro/^fr  right:  ^d.  from 
Spain,  which  power  ceded  to  tliem  by  the  treaty  of  Florida,  all  it-i 


th  of  the   4;2d  deiiree:  od.  fi'-.m   France,  to  whom  li 


ngnis  nor 

United  States  succeeded  as  possessors  of  Louisiana. 

(ireat  stress  is  laid  by  Great  Hritaid  on  the  binding  etfeet  of  tlv. 
Nootka  Sound  convention,  concluiied  by  her  with  Spain  in  IT'J'i. 
and  which  allows  access  to  the  sulijects  of  both  powers  to  places  mi 
the  Pacific  Ocean  not  then  occupied.  This  argument  is  brough 
forward  as  applicable  as  well  \.o  our  title  derived  through  ]iOii- 
isiana,  which  province  belonged  to  Spaiji  in  ITOO,  as  to  that  de- 
duced  from  the  Florida  treaty  of  1 811.).  The  Noutk;*.  Sound  con- 
vention, however,  expressly  left  the,  sovereignty  in  abeyance,  ami 
is  considered  by  us  to  have  been  oid}  intended  to  regulate  ilie  coti 
Dieting  pretensions  to  tin;  trade  with  the  native-. 

Our  ( laims,  as  founded  on  the  juier  discovery  and  first  occiipau 
cy  oi'  the  cc>unlry,  ate  also  cuntestcd,  ^vitU  vhat  justice  may  lu: 


or  i-oursi.vNA. 


:i93 


of  Kngland.  I'lio  losses  and  oxponscs  of  tlic  IJiiitcd 
Slates  arc  C'stimat(^d  at  one  liimdrcd  and  twenty  mil- 

M'oii  by  a  rctVrpiicp  U)thRstafoincnt.sor  the  ri'spoctive  jjloiiipotciitia- 
ries.  The  Ainorican  title  is  farther  sustaiiieil  by  the  old  charters 
ol  the  Atlantic  c<)h)iiies  which  eNteiKleil  vvestwartl  to  the  I'acilic 
Ocean — l»v  the  settlement  of  the  nortliciii  l)(iiiii(huy  of  liouisiana 
by  the  ( oniniissioneis  under  the  treaty  ol  I'treiht  ut  the  -4'.Hh  de- 
t;ice  of  latitude,  and  by  the  contiguity  of  tiie  inhabited  territory  of 
the  United  States. 

It  is  Ifi  be  observed,  though  (he  fact  is  overlookeil  by  the  author, 
wlien  s|)eakin<j.  at  pa^e  £1)0,  of  the  ext(Misi(»!i  (A'  the  American  so- 
vereiy;nty  to  the  country  on  the  I'acilic  t)cean,  that  (..'ro/.at's  }i;ra!it 
liid  not  include  the  wiiole  of  Jiouisiana,  oven  as  it  was  held  by 
Krance  herself  before  the  cession  to  Spain.  The  sources  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi were  supposed  in  iri'2  not  to  extend  beyond  the  forty-se- 
cond dejrree.  IiOui>iana  was  bounded  on  the  north  by  liie  Illinois, 
then  a  part  of  (!ana(i:i,  and  on  the  we-«t  by  Mexic(»,  whose  limits 
were  at  that  time  understooil  to  be  north  of  the  forty-second  dey;ree. 
Consequently,  no  territory  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  was  then 
ijranted.  But,  l>y  ar:  ordoiuKDice  of  ITIT.  the  Illinois  was  annexed 
to  liOuisiana,  and,  after  the  acquisition  of  Canada  by  the  Hritish, 
the  line  of  demarcation  between  their  possei^sions  and  those  of 
France,  west  of  Lake  Superior,  was  fixed  at  the  forty-  mntU  de- 
gree of  north  latitude.  Ily  the  convention  of  1818  between  the 
I'nited  States  and  (ireut  lirilain,  tl'.is  boundary  was  recognised  as 
far  as  the  Rocky  Mountains. 

4.  Convention,  signed  29th  of  September,  18'27,  to  regulate  the 
reference  to  a  friendly  sovereign  or  state,  in  conformity  to  the  5tli 
art"  Je  of  the  treaty  of  Ghent,  of  the  dispute  relative  to  the  north- 
rjstern  boundary. 

The  treaty  of  Ghent  provides  several  commissions  for  fixing';  the 
boundary  line  between  the  Ihiited  Stales  and  (iicat  Britain,  as  de- 
fined in  the  treaty  of  1783.  and  stipulates,  in  the  event  of  the  dis- 
agreement of  the  commissioners  f  ll>e  *wo  powers,  that  tlieir  re- 
ports should  be  submitted  to  a  .riendly  soven-ign  or  state,  whose 
decision  should  be  final.  The  case  contemplated  having  occurred, 
with  respect  to  the  part  of  the  boundary  embraced  in  the  5tli  arti- 
cle, the  object  of  the  convention  of  liondon  was  to  settle  the  time 
for  appoiiuing  the  arbiter,  and  to  simplify  the  duties  to  be  re- 


'i:ji' 


H I 


•ih 

1l 


1 


il 


n 


i'Sfl 
mm 


II*, 


I 


:ms^. 


1 

l|! 

1 

1 

391 


Tlii:  III^  lOKV 


lions  of  dollars,  but  the  peace  left  them  tranquil  pos- 
sessors and   exclusive  sovereigns  of  the  Mississippi. 

quired  of  liiiii,  by  substituting  to  tlio  voluniiiiou»i  papers  in  tlie  con- 
troversy, statements  on  wliirli  a  tleiision  niij^Iit  b(^  jounilctl. 

The  ratifications  of  this  last  convention,  as  well  as  of  llie  t\v(/ 
tonchided  on  tlie  <'»tli  of  Au<;ust,  IH  27,  were  excl)aiiji;ed  at  liomldi, 
on  the  2d  of  April,  IS'IS,  and,  in  pursuance  of  its  provihions,  noi^ii- 
tiations  were  iinuuHliately  thereafter  conintenced  between  the  Hri- 
tish  secretary  of  state  and  Mr.  liiiwrence,  the  Aircrican  charier 
d'affaires,  which  resulted  in  the  selection  (»f  the  kin^of  iheNethi'i 
lands  as  soverei;j;n  arbitrator,  bofore  whom  the  ([uestion  of  our  north- 
eastern  boundary  line  i^  therefore  now  peiidiiin;. 

The  right  of  the  United  States  to  navigate  the  !St.  Lawrence  wa.- 
also  discussed  between  Mr.  (iallatin  and  the  British  plenipotentia- 
ries, but  without  the  nej^otiations  leadin^u;  to  any  result. 

The  trade  with  the  Hritish  colonics  formed  the  subject  of  a  Ioiil' 
correspondence  between  Mr.  (i;dlatinand  Mr.  Canning,  which  wa? 
continued  with  his  successor,  the  Kail  of  Dudley.  At  the  nejiotiatioi: 
of  the  commercial  treaty  in  1815,  it  was  the  wish  of  the  United  State-; 
to  make  the  same  arranjs^ements  for  the  colonies  as  for  the  mother 
country.  This  was  then  relusetl  by  Knj^land,  though  the  propositiun 
was  subsequently  brouj^ht  forward,  particularly  at  the  conferenc(;> 
of  1818  and  18^4,  with  well-<;;rounded  expectations  of  the  two  par- 
tics  coming  to  a  satisfactory  understanding.  In  conse(|uence  ol 
the  British  act  of  l8'2-2,  the  trade,  which  had  been  for  some  time 
closed  by  the  operation  of  the  previous  regulations  of  the  two  pow- 
ers, was  opened  to  a  modiiied  extent.  After  the  suspension,  how- 
ever, of  the  negotiations  of  18^24,  and  before  they  could  be  re- 
sumed, the  British  government  passed  the  act  of  1825,  regulatinji, 
the  trade  of  foreign  states  with  the  West  India  possessions.  Not 
supposing  that  it  was  intended  that  this  law  should  apply  to  u,», 
and  having  no  intimation  that  we  were  to  consider  the  suspended 
negotiations  as  terminated,  congress  failed  to  comply  with  the  re- 
quirements necessary  to  entitle  us  to  tlie  provisions  of  the  act  ot 
parliament.  Taking  advantage  of  this  omission,  an  order  in  coun- 
cil was  issued  by  England  in  July,  1826,  a  few  days  before  Mr. 
Gallatin's  arrival  in  London,  closing  the  West  India  ports  against 
our  vessels  from  and  after  the  1st  of  December  following — a  mea- 
sure that  was  met  by  putting  in  force  our  countervailing  proiiil'i- 
tions,  which  had  been  suspended  in  1822. 


OF  LOUISIANA. 


aerj 


1  Ii'^y  were  tlieiiccrortli  autlioiized  to  calculate  that 
iiotliing  could  prevent  the  extension  of  their  sovc- 
rci«jnty  to  tlic  NVustern  Dcean.  A  settlement  has 
been  formed  on  its  shores  at  the  mouth  of  the  Colum- 
bia River.  The  founder  is  M\\  Astor,  who  called  the 
post  Astoria. 

It  is  especially  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  Missis- 
sippi that  indications  of  former  French  colonization  arc 
to  be  foimd.  Ruins  of  forts  and  bastions  which  they 
erected  are  still  to  be  seen  even  on  the  Missoi.**!.  In- 
dian families,  who  allied  themselves,  a  cciiturv  a^o, 
with  a  Norman  or  a  Briton,  boast  of  their  origin,  and 
bear  with  pride  the  names  of  their  ancestors.  Those  of 
Iberville,  Pontchartrain,  Maurepas,  and  Jumonville  are 

It  may  be  here  romarkod  tbat  the  course  ])ursuc(l  by  tbe  British 
j;overnmeut,  in  relation  to  tbe  colotiuil  trade,  ouj;htnot  to  be  ascribed 
to  any  proceedings  on  the  part  of  ttie  United  States.  The  treaties 
of  reciprocity,  concluded  in  1824  uith  several  of  the  powers  of 
Kurojte,  had  made  the  ministry  very  unpopular  with  the  ship  own- 
ins,  and  to  j;;ratify  that  important  interest  it  was  deemed  expedient 
to  exclude  the  Americans  from  the  West  Indies.  In  corroboration 
of  lliij  assertion,  it  nsay  lje  added,  that  tliouj;h  the  act  of  parliament 
of  1825,  with  the  exposition  intended  to  be  given  to  it  in  Kngland, 
was  in  no  way  l»roun;ht  to  the  attention  of  our  government,  (with 
whom  a  negotiation  on  the  ^uhject  was  tlicn  p«:nding,)  it  is  within 
the  knowledge  of  the  writer  of  tliis  note  that  it  was  not  only  com- 
municated to,  at  least  one  Kurojiean  state,  but  that  the  power  re- 
ferred to  was  strenuously,  though  inetlectually  urged,  tlirougli  its 
minister  in  London,  by  Mr.  lluskisson  as  well  as  Mr.  Canning,  to 
comply  with  the  conditions  of  the  Briti;-h  statute. 

It  is  not  improhable  that,  owing  to  the  changes  in  the  English  ad- 
ministration, since  the  date  of  the  discussions  witii  Mr.  Gallatin, 
p.irticularly  the  retirement  of  Mr.  lluskisson.  an  arrangement  may 
soon  be  made  that  will  secure  to  the  United  States  a  participation 
in  the  trade  in  (|uestion.— Tuansi.. 


!<I1 


m 


1 4^  •!■!., 


Mm 


nil',  Hi^-'ioia 


preserved  with  a  kind  of  gratitude.  It  is  a  similar  lecl- 
in<T  which  in  the  old  states  of  the  Union  lias  ^iven  to 
counties  and  towns  tlie  names  of  Hourbon,  Luzerne. 
Lafayette,  Steuben.  Louisville,  and  Fulton.  The  city 
where  congress  sits,  and  a  great  number  of  district?^ 
bear  t!ie  name  of  \\  ashington. 

To  the  south  of  the  regions  w^atered  by  the  Kcd 
Kiver,  runs  the  Trinity,  which  traverses  the  province 
of  Texas.  Tiiis  country,  for  a  long  time  considered 
a  part  of  f^ouisiana,  remained  by  treaty  in  possession 
of  Spain:  and  the  United  States,  as  ambitious  as  old 
monarcliies,  regret  having  too  easily  abandoned  it. 

It  was  there,  a  few  years  ago,  that  some  Frenchmen, 
exiled  from  tlieir  country,  attempted  to  form  a  settle- 
ment. The  narrative  of  their  misfortunes  will  conclude 
my  account  of  the  cession  of  Louisiana. 

The  sudden  and  unexpected  return  of  Bonaparte  to 
France  from  the  island  of  Elba,  had  brouj.dit  around 
him  half  S  that  youth  who,  under  this  great  captain, 
had  known  no  other  glory  than  that  of  arms,  and  no 
other  happiness  than  that  of  triumphs  and  victories. 
His  party,  hastily  formed,  incautiously  brought  toge- 
ther, was  soon  crushed.  Several  chiefs,  menaced  b\ 
the  tribunals,  preferred  exile  to  the  dangers  of  a  trial. 
and  retired  to  the  United  States.  They  were  tlicrc 
hospitably  received.  In  March,  1817,  congress  grant- 
ed them  lands*  on  the  borders  of  the  Alabama,  at  tlic 


*  By  the  act  of  con^^ress  ol"  the  Gd  of  M.-utIi,  1817,  9'2,l(i()  acres 
were  |L!;iai)ted.  on  conditiuti  of  iiitrudiiciii^  tliere  (he  vine  and  olivf 


iMi-  'm 


OF  I-OUISIANA. 


:m 


milar  reci- 
s  given  to 
,  Luzerne. 
The  city 
f  districts 

y  the  l{eii 
)  province 
considered 
possession 
Dus  as  old 
ned  it. 
rcncliuicii. 
1  a  settlc- 
1  conclude 

napartc  to 
lit  around 
:t  captain. 
>s.  and  no 
victories, 
ight  togc- 
:'naced  In 
of  a  trial. 
'ere  tlicrc 
ess  grant- 
na,  at  tlir 

1-3,  .16(1  aciv.» 
(.'  and  olive 


confines  of  Florida,  and  the  country  of  the  Creek  In- 
dians. They  fixed  a  very  moderate  price,  payable  in 
fourteen  years,  and  the  grant  of  congress  was  a  libe- 
ral present  disguised  under  the  form  of  a  sale.  The 
lands  were  well  selected;  the  gift  was  worthy  of  being 
offered  by  a  iVce  people  to  courageous,  though  misled, 
men.  But  the  grantees,  iiabituated  to  military  activi- 
ty or  to  the  leisure  of  a  camp,  novices  in  agriculture 
and  in  the  art  of  clearing  new  land,  soon  abandoned 
their  undertaking.  Several  of  them  retroceded  their 
portions,  and  dispersed.  Others,  while  they  removed 
from  Alabama,  persisted  in  the  design  of  forming  an 
agricultural  settlement. 

It  was  towards  Texas  that  their  expectations  were 
iLirned.  Generals  Lallemand  and  Higaud  conducted 
thither  a  small  body  of  soldiers  and  labourers.  The 
hope  of  finding  in  this  country  another  l*'rance  offered 
to  them  an  attraction  v/hich  those  who  never  have  been 
banished  cannot  appreciate.  Tisey  had  advanced  ten 
miles  within  the  territory,  and  acknowledged  Lallemand 
Jbr  their  commander.  He  supposed  that  he  could  sub- 
ject to  agricultural  labour  men  who  knew  no  other  ac- 
tivity than  that  of  war.  There  were  in  the  country  a 
great  many  wild  bulls,  cows,  and  horses.  Came  and 
fish  abounded,  but  the  clearing  of  the  ground  is  labo- 
rious, and  requires  so  long  a  time  that  it  can  never  be 
followed  by  a  harvest  within  the  year.  Even  on  the 
best  soil  one  must  expect  to  be  opposed  by  the  climate, 
and  an  extraordinary  drought  ii!terru|)tcd  their  labour 
md  suspended  all  vegetation.     'J'hey  were  not.  howc- 


jiiiTlrl 


u 


mi 
mil: 


111 


m 


ill: 


■'«4 


II 


If 


■''"i^ 


mm. 


398 


THE  HISTORY 


I  .II 


ver,  discouraged,  and,  while  tliey  waited  for  the  season 
to  become  more  favourable,  they  lived  on  the  provi- 
sions tiicy  had  brought  with  them,  and  on  what  they 
obtained  horn  hunting  and  fisljing.  The  natives  had 
received  them  kindly,  and  a  petty  traffic  had  been  es- 
tablished with  them.  Lallomand  had  given  the  name 
of  Champ  ifAsilc  to  the  post  that  lie  had  chosen.  He 
was  beginning  to  fortify  it,  to  prescribe  regulations,  and 
to  invite  otiicr  emigrants,  when  his  feeble  progress  was 
arrested  by  obstacles  which  be  had  not  foreseen. 

The  Spaniards  directed  him  to  discontinue  the  clear- 
ing of  the  land  and  his  other  labours,  or  acknowledge 
the  sovereignty  of  the  catholic  king.  They  even 
marched  in  arms  against  Champ  iVAsile.  The  little 
colony  was  in  no  state  of  defence,  and  did  not  under- 
take to  make  a  useless  resistance.  These  unfortunate 
men,  fugitives  from  their  own  country,  were  expelled 
from  a  territory  where  the  aborigines  had  received 
them  with  hospitality,  and  which  ought  to  have  be- 
longed only  to  those  who  were  the  first  to  occupy  it 
beneficially.  This  little  community  no  longer  exists; 
its  chiefs  have  perished,  or  their  fate  is  unknown. 

Texas  is  one  of  the  finest  countries  in  the  world: 
and  yet  the  Europeans,  eager  as  they  have  been  to 
make  concpiests  in  America,  have  seemed  almost  to  the 
present  day  ignorant  of  its  existence.  The  new  inha- 
bitants, notwithstanding  their  weakness,  supposed  that 
they  might  take  advantage  of  the  troubles  which  agi- 
tated Mexico,  and  in  1820  declared  their  independence. 

The  emijirants.  who  fly  from  the  old  w^orld  in  searcli 


he  season 
ihe  provi- 
kvliat  they 
Ltivcs  had 
been  cs- 
thc  name 
>scn.  He 
-tions,  and 
igress  was 
cen. 

the  cleai- 
:nowledgc 
hey  even 
The  httlo 
lot  undei- 
nfortunatc 
[)  exj)elled 
received 
have  bc- 
occupy  it 
IQY  exists; 
:)\vn. 

le  world: 
}  been  to 
ost  to  tlic 
new  inha- 
osed  that 
hich  agi- 
)endcnc('. 
in  searcli 


OF  LOUISIAXA. 


399 


of  happiness  in  the  new,  expect  to  obtain  it  without  et- 
Ibrt.  Ti)ey  will  not  be  disappointed  in  finding  liberty 
there,  a^d  they  will  become  proprietors  at  little  ex- 
pense. But  unless  they  are  laborious,  persevering,  and 
economical  they  will  bo  deceived  in  their  hopes  of  for- 
tune. Those  who  have  preceded  them  have  smoothed 
for  them  a  great  many  diff  ilties.  The  country  is  now 
known,  the  Indians  arc  either  dispersed  or  little  to  be 
feared.  Lands  of  an  excellent  quality  are  soiu  there  at 
the  most  moderate  price.  Congress  would  not  be  averse 
to  give  them  gratuitously  to  any  one  in  a  condition  to 
cultivate  them,  and  this  liberality  would  more  certainly 
contribute  to  render  the  state  powerful  and  rich  than 
the  price  at  which  they  are  ceded.  Property  gives  di- 
ligence to  the  most  idle,  and  perhaps  this  is  the  cha- 
racteristic whicli  most  distinguishes  American  from 
Kuropean  communities.  In  the  latter,  families  emerged 
from  servitude,  six  centuries  ago,  form  at  this  day  the 
class  of  day  labourers,  justly  so  called,  because  they 
OMiy  labour  and  exist,  as  it  were,  by  the  day's  work. 
As  they  have  no  other  property  than  the  hoe  and  spade. 
they  make  no  meliorations:  they  experience  frecpjent 
privations,  and  are  yet  so  in.providcnt  of  the  future  that 
they  give  themselves  up  to  repose  and  sloth  wlienever 
the  provisions  of  primary  necessity  are  at  a  low  price. 
In  America,  on  the  contrary,  the  new-comers  can  want 
neither  work  nor  wages.  They  have  the  example  of 
an  active,  enterprising  i)eople,  instructed  in  all  the 
useful  arts.  The  emigrant  is  always  kindly  received, 
and  has  noth.ins  io  fear  but  his  own  faults.     \  ijood 


i¥ 


mu, 


JI<!i 


100 


IIK  UISTOHV   OF  LOUISIANA. 


carpenter,  an  industrious  mason,  a  clever  mechanic 
see  only  the  laws  above  them.  No  wlicre  else  do  W( 
find  so  much  case  and  contentment,  the  fruits  of  indus- 
try, of  discreet  conduct,  and  good  morals.  In  all  the 
countries,  whoso  occupation  followed  the  treaty  of  ces- 
sion, scttlemeiits  are  formed,  and  are  rapidly  extending!. 
The  federal  government  watches  over  them  till  tlic 
time  comes  for  constituting  tiiem  states  of  the  Union, 
The  protection  which  they  receive  renders  them  safe 
from  every  aggression,  and  they  will,  in  their  turn,  add 
to  the  strength  of  the  confederacy.  Thus  it  has  need 
neither  oi'  war  nor  conquests  to  become  powerful  and 
formidable.  By  reli^riously  maintaining  tiieir  wise  in- 
stitutions, constantly  observing  the  laws  of  their  adop- 
tion, never  losing  sight  of  the  rules  o\^  justice,  but 
making  all  their  interests  subordinate  to  them,  the 
United  States  will  more  effectually  secure  their  pros- 
perity and  promote  their  glory  than  by  battles  or  vic- 
tories. Respected  abroad,  happy  at  home,  fearing  no- 
thing as  a  nation,  having  little  to  desire  as  a  people, 
they  will  then  enjoy  all  tlic  blessings  that  were  the  ob- 
ject of  the  revolution. 


mechanic 
;lsc  do  vv( 
ts  of  Indus- 
In  all  the 
;aty  of  ccs- 
cxtcndiiig. 
im  till  the 
tlic  Union. 
them  safe 
'  turn,  add 
:  has  need 
iverful  and 
r  wise  in- 
heir  adop- 
istice,  but 
them,  the 
heir  pros- 
es or  vic- 
iaring  no- 
a  people, 
ce  the  ob- 


APPENDIX. 


ill   W 


I 


l)li«>l.f'" 


Hi 


IRE 

Tmi 
in  I 

consi 
ilcsir 
ji'cts 
the  c 
1 800, 
tue  o 
betwi 
liner  I 
aaid  < 
Inve 
dent 
cons( 
liiste 
jaini! 
near 
in  th 
bois, 
ly  es 
cles: 
Ai 
atS< 
hetw 


'.'nitc 


if  II 


APPENDIX. 


No.  I. 

IREATV  AND  C()Nr\'FAriONS   UK  T  UK  F.N    I'llF.   I  SITE  D  STATKS 
AND  THE  FUKNCri   UKIMIJI.IC.* 

Ti'cahj  hclivfct)  the  Frvach  If  (public  and  Ihr  raited  Stales,  coHcern- 
in'^  the.  Cession  of  Loaiaianu,  sii^ned  at  Paris  the  M)th  of  Jlpril, 
180.3. 

TiiK  president  ol  the  rnited  Htatcs  ol'  America,  and  the  first 
consul  of  the  French  republic,  in  the  name  of  the  French  people, 
desiring  to  remove  all  source  of  misunderstanding?  relative  to  ob- 
jects of  discussion,  mentioned  in  the  second  and  fifth  articles  of 
the  convention  of  tlie  Htli  Vendemiaire,  an  9,  (.)()lh  of  September, 
i8()(),)  relative  to  the  rights  claimed  by  the  I'nited  States,  in  vir- 
tue of  tlie  treaty  concluded  at  Madrid  the  ^2rth  of  ()c*^^ober,  1795, 
between  His  Catholic  Majesty  and  the  said  United  States,  and  wil- 
ling to  strengthen  tiie  union  and  fiiendship  which  at  tlie  time  of  the 
said  convention  was  hajipily  re-establi>he(l  between  the  two  nations, 
have  respectively  named  their  plenipotentiaries;  to  wit,  the  presi- 
dent of  tl\e  United  States  of  America,  by  and  with  the  advice  and 
consent  of  the  senate  of  the  said  states,  Robert  R.  Livingston,  mi- 
nister plenipotentiary  of  the  United  States,  and  James  Mcmroe, 
jiiinister  plenipotentiary  and  envoy  extraordinary  of  the  said  states, 
near  the  government  of  the  French  republic;  and  the  first  consul, 
in  the  name  of  the  French  people,  the  French  citizen  Barbe  Mav- 
bois,  minister  of  the  public  treasury,  who,  after  having  respective- 
ly exchanged  their  full  powers,  have  agreed  to  the  following  arti- 
cles:— 

Art.  1st.  ^Vhereas,  by  the  article  the  third  of  the  treaty  concluded 
at  St.  lldephonso,  the  9th  Vendemiaire,  an  9,  (1st  October,  I80t),) 
between  the  first  consul  of  the  Frcncli  republic  and  His  Catholic 

■  The  trcity  m\A  coiwctition  ;ii-c  f^ivcii  from  the  American  copies,  and  the 
''n'ttcd  StaUvj  aic  conscqucntlv  nani'jd  firi^t  in  tlicm — Tha>5. 


f 


flii;: 


;li 

11 

1 

SI 

\m 


■:^'-  'il 


401 


AlM'r.NTMX. 


i^,S 


M 


Maji'stv,  it  was  ,i";r('cd  as  follows:  -'His  Catholic  ^fojostv  promise- 
aiul  eiijfa^^es,  on  liis  part,  to  retiocede  to  the  Krciirh  republic,  six 
months  after  the  full  and  entire  execution  of  the  conditions  and  sti- 
pulations herein  relative  to  his  Royal  Hidmess  the  Duke  of  Parma, 
the  colony  «)r  province  of  Louisiain,  with  the  same  extent  that  it 
now  has  in  the  hands  of  Spain,  and  that  it  liad  when  Fraiicc  possebscd 
itj  and  sucli  as  it  should  be  after  the  treaties  aabsc(iuently  entered 
into  between  Spain  and  oilier  states."  And,  whereas,  in  pursuance 
of  the  treaty,  and  particularly  of  the  third  article,  the  French  re- 
public has  an  incontestable  title  to  the  domain,  and  to  the  posseS' 
sion  of  the  said  territory:  The  fir»t  consul  of  the  French  republic, 
desirin;;;  to  jrivc  to  the  United  States  a  stron<5  proof  of  his  friend- 
ship, doth  hereby  cede  to  the  said  United  StateP,  in  the  name  ol 
the  French  republic,  for  ever  and  in  full  sovereignty,  the  said  terri- 
tory, with  all  its  rights  and  aj)purtcnances,  as  fully  and  in  tlie  same 
manner  as  they  had  been  acquir^'tl  by  the  French  republic  in  virtue 
of  the  above-mentioned  treaty  concluded  with  His  Catholic  Majesty. 

Am.  2d.  In  the  cession  made  by  the  preceding  article  are  in- 
cluded liie  adjacent  islands  belonging-  to  Louisiana,  all  public  lots 
and  s{[uares,  vacant  lands,  and  all  public  bnildings,  fortifications, 
barracks,  and  other  edifices  which  are  not  private  property.  The 
archives,  papers,  and  documents,  relative  to  the  domain  and  sove- 
reignty of  Loui^iiuiKi  and  its  dependencies,  will  be  left  in  the  pus- 
session  of  the  commissaries  of  the  ('nitod  States,  and  copies  will 
be  afterwards  givet\  in  due  f(»rm  to  the  magistrates  and  municipal 
officers  of  such  of  the  said  jiapers  and  documents  as  may  be  ne- 
cessary "^^0  them. 

Art.  0.  The  inliabitants  of  the  ceded  territory  shall  be  incorpo- 
rated in  vhe  Union  of  the  United  States,  and  admitted  as  soon  a? 
possible,  according  to  the  principles  of  the  federal  constitution,  t(t 
the  enjoyment  of  all  the  rights,  advantages,  and  immunities  of  ci- 
ti'/.cns  of  the  United  States;  and  in  the  mean  time  they  shall  h'' 
maintained  and  protected  in  the  free  enjoyment  of  their  liberty, 
property,  and  the  religion  which  they  profess. 

Art.  4th.  There  shall  be  sent  by  the  government  of  France  a 
commissary  to  Louisiana,  to  the  end  that  he  do  every  act  necessa- 
r}',  as  well  to  receive  from  tlie  officers  of  His  Catholic  Majesty  the 
said  country  and  its  dependencies,  in  the  name  of  the  French  lo 
public,  if  it  has  not  been  already  done,  as  to  transmit  it  in  the  nanu- 
of  the  French  republic  to  the  commissary  or  agent  of  the  Unitcil 
States, 


\r'i'KM)i\. 


IU.» 


Aui  ;»tli.  ImmcMliatclyanpr  the  ratification  of  tlic  present  treaty 
by  tlie  president  of  tlic  I'nited  States,  and  in  case  that  of  the  first 
consul  shall  have  been  pievimisly  obtained,  tiie  coniniissriry  of  the 
Krenth  republic  shall  remit  all  the  military  posts  of  New  Orleans, 
and  other  parts  of  the  ceded  territory,  to  the  comuiissary  or  coni- 
inissaries  named  by  the  president  to  take  possession;  the  troops, 
whether  of  Krante  or  Spain,  who  may  be  there,  shall  cease  to  oc- 
cupy any  military  post  from  the  time  of  takinu;  possession,  and  shall 
be  embarked  as  soon  as  jiossible,  in  the  course  of  three  months  af- 
ter the  ratiiication  of  this  treaty. 

Aui".  (Jth.  The  United  States  promise  to  execute  such  treaties 
and  articles  as  may  have  been  ntireed  belv  ten  Spain  and  the  tribes 
and  nations  of  Indians,  until,  by  nuitnal  con^ent  of  the  United 
States  and  the  said  tribes  or  nations,  other  suitable  articles  shall 
have  been  aj:i;reed  upon. 

AiiT.  rth.  As  it  is  reciprocidly  advanta;2;roiis  to  the  commerce  of 
France  and  the  United  States  to  encouia;;e  the  communitation  of 
both  nations  for  a  limited  time  in  the  country  ceded  by  the  present 
treaty,  until  general  arrangements  relative  to  the  commerce  of  both 
nations  may  be  agreed  on,  it  has  been  agreed  between  the  contract- 
ing parties,  that  the  French  ships  coming  directly  from  France  or 
any  of  her  colonies,  loaded  only  with  (he  i)roduce  or  manufactures 
of  F" ranee  or  her  said  colonies;  and  tlic  shins  ot"  Spain  coming  di- 
rectly from  Spain  or  any  of  her  colonies,  loaded  only  witli  tiic  jiro- 
duce  or  manufactures  of  Spain  or  her  colonies,  shall  be  admitted 
during  the  space  of  twelve  years  in  the  ports  of  New  Orleans,  and 
in  all  other  legal  ports  of  entry  M'ithin  the  ceded  territory,  in  the 
same  manner  as  the  ships  of  the  United  States  coming  directly  fro:ii 
France  or  Spain  or  any  of  their  colonies,  without  being  subject 
to  any  other  or  greater  duty  on  merchandise,  or  other  or  greater 
tonnage  than  those  paid  by  the  citizens  of  the  United  States. 

During  the  space  of  time  above-m  'tioned,  no  other  nation  shall 
have  a  right  to  the  san)e  ])rivilr'^;es  in  the  ports  of  ^he  ceded  terri- 
tory: the  twelve  years  shall  commence  three  mnnllis  after  the  ex- 
change of  ratifications,  if  it  shall  take  place  in  France,  or  three 
months  after  it  shall  have  been  iiotilled  at  Paris  to  the  French  go- 
vernment, if  it  shall  take  place  "in  (he  United  States:  it  is,  howe- 
ver, well  understooti  thai  the  object  of  the  above  article  is  to  fa- 
vour the  manufactures,  (ommerce,  freight,  and  navigation  of  France 
and  of  Spain,  so  far  as  relates  to  the  importations  that  the  French 
and  Spanish  -hull  make  into  the  said  ports  of  the  United  States, 


VI 


w 


i()(l 


AI'l'r.MtiX. 


1,1 


witliout  111  any  suiL  aflbctin'j;  llu'  r(';;iilalioPs  tliai  llic  I'liiU'd  M.Ui  ■ 
may  make;  coiirciniii::;  tlu'  cxpoitafioii  ot"  llio    proiluco  and  iin'i 
cliandise  of  tlic  rn'iii'd  States,  or  any  v'v^ht  tlioy  may  Iiavt*  to  inak" 
such  rc<^ula(ioii>. 

Art.  Hill.  In  I'litiire,  and  foi'  over  aft(>i-  the  o\])iration  of  lli^ 
twelve  years,  the  ships  of  Fiaiifc  ^hall  lie  treated  upon  the  tooting 
of  the  most  lavoiired  nations  in  the  ports  abovt'-nu'iilioiied. 

AuT.  Dtli.  'I'he  particular  convention,  sij^iied  this  day  by  the  re- 
spective ministers,  having  lor  its  object  to  provide  for  the  paymeia 
of  debts  due  to  (he  citi/.ens  of  tiie  I'liited  States  by  the  French  re- 
public, prior  to  the  Mn\\  of  September,  1800.  (Sth  Voiidemiaire,  uii 
;),)  is  a|)proved,  ami  to  iiave  its  execution  in  the  same  manner  as  il 
it  had  been  inserted  in  the  present  treaty:  and  i(  sliall  be  rr'^'iod 
in  the  same  form,  and  in  tlie  same  time,  so  that  the  one  siiall  iin" 
be  ratified  distinct  from  the  other. 

Anotlier  particular  con^elltioll.  siu:iicd  at  tlie  saint'  date  as  tlio 
present  treaty,  relative  to  the  deliiiitivc  rub'  between  the  contract- 
ing parties,  is  in  tiie  like  manner  a])|)roved,  and  will  be  ratified  in 
the  same  form,  and  in  tlie  same  tiiiic.  and  jointly. 

Aicr.  loth.  The  present  treaty  sliall  be  ratified  in  good  ami  diu 
form,  ami  tlie  ratilications  shall  be  exdiaiiiied  in  the  space  of  sIn 
months  after  the  date  of  tiie  signature  by  the  ministers  plenipoten- 
tiary, or  sooner  if  possible. 

In  faith  whereof,  the  respective  plenipotentiaries  have  signed 
these  articles  in  the  French  and  Fiiiglish  languages;  declaring,  ur- 
verthelcss,  that  the  present  treaty  was  originully  agreed  to  in  the 
French  language;  and  have  thereunto  put  their  -eals. 

l)(Uic  at  Paris,  the  tenth  day  of  Floreal,  in  the  eleventh  year  oi 
Oie.  f'r''iM:h  republic,  and  the  oOth  of  April,  ISO.j. 

TlonKUr  R.  I.I\IN(;STON. 

lAMKS  MONROK, 

I5AHBE  MAUHOIS. 


nilt'tl  M. Ur- 
ic   iUul    lllcl 

wo  to  make 

tion  of  \\\r 
I  tlie  rodfiii'^ 
lied. 

y  by  tlio  re- 
lie  payiiu'iii, 
I  Froiicli  K,'- 
k'luialix',  ai! 
iiamier  as  il 
be  rr'^'ied 
nc  sliuU  iidi 

date  as  tin 
lie  coutract- 
i  ratilicd  in 

jd  and  diu 
)])aco  <if  SIN 
})k'ni[)(itt'ii 

lavo  siiiiicii 
clariii;^,  lU'- 
I    to   ill  tin 

ill  til  year  ci 


Al'I'I.M'l^. 


No.  -J. 


jn: 


>  I'liniiliiiti  lnlu'fni  lln    fnilid  Slnh .-i  af  ,  Imt  r'n n  aiid  tin   i-'rciidi 
Iffj)i'fi/tr,  iif  till  .-.anil  da/r  irith  I  In   jin  ralurj;  Tit  ah/. 


Viw.  jHesideiit  ol"  tlie  United  Slates  of  America  and  tlio  iiist 
lonsid  of  tlie  Krencli  renidilie,  in  the  name  (d'  the  Freritli  people, 
111  consequence  of  the  treaty  ol"  cession  of  Louisiana,  vhicli  has 
been  sii;-ned  this  day,  wi-hiii'j;  to  regulate  (lejinilively  CAery  tliinj; 
which  has  relation  to  the  said  cession,  have  authori/.ed  to  this  cl- 
fect  the  plenipotentiaries,  that  is  to  say:  the  president  of  the 
I'liited  States  has,  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  se- 
iiatc  of  the  &aid  states,  nominated  for  their  jilenipotentiarie-,  llo- 
iiert  It.  Livingston,  minister  ])lenipotentiary  of  the  United  States, 
and  James  Monroe,  minister  pUiiipotentiarv  and  envoy  extraordi- 
nary of  the  said  I'niled  States,  near  the  governiiient  of  the  Fi'ench 
icpiiblic:  and  the  first  consul  of  the  French  republic,  in  the  name 
i)f  the  French  people,  has  named  as  plenipotentiary  of  the  sai«l  re- 
public, the  French  citi/.en  Barbe  Marbois,  who,  in  virtue  of  their 
lull  powers,  wliich  have  been  exchanged  this  day,  have  agreed  to 
(ho  loUowing  articles: — 

Aur.  1st.  The  government  of  the  United  States  engages  to  pay 
M  tlie  French  government,  in  the  manner  specified  in  the  following 
articles,  the  siuu  of  sixty  millions  of  francs,  independent  of  the 
-?um  which  shall  be  fixed  by  another  convention  for  the  paynicnt  of 
debts  due  by  France  to  citi7.eii>  of  the  I'nited  Stales. 

AuT.  2d.  For  the  payment  of  the  sum  of  sixty  millions  ol' Irancs, 
iuentioned  in  th<;  preceding  article,  the  L'nitcd  States  shall  create 
a  stock  of  eleven  millions  two  lumdred  and  filly  thousand  dollars, 
bearing  an  interest  of  six  ])er  cent,  per  annum,  iiayable  half  yearly 
ill  London,  Amsterdam,  or  Paris,  amounting  by  the  half  year  to 
three  hundred  and  thirty-seven  thousand  five  hundred  dollars,  ac- 
tording  to  the  proportions  which  shall  be  determined  by  the  Frcncli 
government,  to  be  paid  at  either  place:  the  principal  of  the  said 
stock  to  be  reimbursed  at  the  treasury  of  the  United  States,  in  an- 
nual payments  of  not  less  than  three  millions  of  dollars  each;  of 
which  the  first  payment  shall  commence  fifteen  years  after  the  date 
of  the  exchange  of  ratifications:  this  stock  shall  be  transferred  to 
ihe  government  of  France,,  or  to  such  person  or  persons  us  shaU  be 


Wyjk 


\m 


\ri'K\i>i\. 


aiillirtri/c'i  lo  icccive  if,  iti  lliioc  iiiontlis  at  iii(»si  alter  tliR  cxcliiiiijic 
dlllic  ratilicalioiis  of  this  treaty,  and  alti'r  liouisjaiiu  sliall  1)1-  taken 
possession  »)!'  in  tlip  name  of  tlie  {government  of  the  Tnited  States. 

It  U  fill  (lier  aj^reed,  that  il"  the  French  j;-overinnent  shoiiUl  be 
dosinuis  ol'  disposiiiji;  of  the  said  stock  to  lereive  the  caj)ital  ii' 
Kui'o|)t',  at  sliortfi-  terms,  tliat  its  measures  t'oi-  that  purpose  slial! 
be  laken  so  as  (o  lavour,  in  the  j^rtatest  (h'jijrtM!  possible,  tlie  ciedii; 
of  the  United  States,  and  to  raise  to  the  hiyliest  price  tl»e  said 
s(otk. 

Aur.  od.  It  is  agreed  tliat  the  dollar  of  tlie  I'nited  States,  spc 
rilied  in  the  present  convention,  shall  be  lixeil  at  live  francs  fVe'/o; 
or  live  livres  eii;ht  sous  tournois.  Tlie  present  convention  shall  be 
ratified  in  j^ood  and  due  form,  and  the  ratifications  shall  be  ex- 
chan^fed  in  the  space  of  six  months,  to  date  from  this  day,  or  soouci 
if  poisible. 

Ill  faith  of  which,  the  res|)ective  ])lenipoi('ntiaries  have  sinjiiot! 
liie  above  articles  botli  in  tlie  French  and  Knulish  lan,i>ua;i;es;  do 
daring,  nevertheless,  that  the  present  treaty  has  been  oriii;iiialIy 
a<^reed  on  and  written  in  the  French  lati<!;ua;5e;  to  which  they  have 
hereunto  aflixed  their  seals. 

Doiu-  at  I'aris,  the  tenth  of  Floreal,  eleventh  year  of  the  Freiic!'. 
republic,  (oOtli  Apiil,  ISO.n) 

llOUKIi'i'  U.  UVlNdsTON,  (L.  h«. 

.lAMKS  MONHOK,  (L.  S.) 

liAKHK  MARHOIS,  (F,.  S.) 


No.  :j. 

Convi'nlion  lic/iccni  the  f/nilcil  SfalvM  of  Amrficu  iind  the  Frencli 
lirpitblic^  also  of  the.  sunir  dale  uilh  the,  Louisiana  Trrafjj. 

"i'lir,  jiresident  of  the  Tnited  States  of  America  and  the  first 
consul  of  the  Krencli  republic,  in  the  name  of  the  Frencli  people, 
having  by  a  treaty  of  this  date  terminated  all  ditncuUics  rclativ 
to  Louisiana,  and  established  on  a  suliil  foundation  the  friendship 
which  unites  the  two  nations,  and  being  desirous,  in  complianci 
\vitli  the  second  and  iifih  articles  of  the  convention  of  the  8ili  Yen- 
ilemiuire,  ninth   vear  of  the  French  republic,   (oOtii  September, 


all  hv  takuii 
liti'il  States. 
t  should  bo 
e  capital  ii' 
iiirpose  (sluil! 
I.',  the  credit 
icu  the  sail! 

States,  spi. 


,1 1 .1 1 


tioii  sliall  Ijo 
shall  he  ex- 
»y,  or  soouei 

liavo  sij^iiod 
i^ua^cs;  do- 
ll orii^iimlly 
:h  they  liavi 

'  tlif;  Kri!ii<;!' 


\  (I- 


t/ic  Frrnrli 
Tieahf. 

kI  the  first 
nch  people, 
ics  rolativ 
I  friciiils!.'!!* 
compliaiici 
le  8lh  Veil- 
Scptciub'.M, 


\I'PKM)I\. 


10!) 


ISOO,)  tf)  secure  tlie  ])ayiiicnf  of  tin;  sum  due  l»y  Krance  to  the  riti- 
/.eiis  (d  the  I'liited  .States,  hu\e  ies|)eetively  nominated  as  plenipo- 
tentiaries, that  \%  to  say:  the  presideni  of  the  rtiited  Svates  oF 
America,  by  and  willi  llie  advice  and  consent  of  the  senate,  llo- 
Ijert  R.  [iivinj;ston,  minister  pleni|Mitentiary.  and  James  Mtmroe, 
)uinister  plenipotentiary  and  envoy  extraordinary  (d'  the  said  stales, 
near  the  ^^overnment  of  the  Kren*  ii  repuhli;,  and  the  tir.-.t  consul, 
in  the  name  of  the  French  peoplf.  liie  Krencli  citi/en  llarbi'-  Mar- 
bois,  minister  of  the  public  treasury:  who,  alter  havio};  exchani^ed 
iheir  lull  powers,  have  a::;reed  to  the  I'ollowini;  articles: — 

Aur.  1st.  The  del)tsdue  by  France  to  the  citi/.ens  (d"  the  United 
States,  contracted  before  the  Sili  Vendeiniaire.  ninth  year  of  the 
Frencii  republic,  (.>()lh  September,  I. SOO,)  sliall  be  paid  accordinj:; 
to  the  foll(»win;>;  reu;ulations,  witli  interest  at  six  per  cent.,  to  com- 
uience  from  the  period  when  the  accounts  and  vouchers  were  pre- 
sented to  the  Frenili  government. 

Aur.  iid.  'J'he  debts  piovideil  for  by  the  prece(lin<>;  article  are 
those  whose  result  is  comprised  in  the  ((Miji'ctural  note  annexed  to 
the  present  convention,  and  which,  with  the  interest,  cannot  exceed 
the  sum  of  twenty  miirnuis  ol  francs.  'I'he  claims  comprised  in 
the  said  note,  which  fall  within  the  exceptions  of  tin;  followinji;  ar- 
ticles, shall  not  be  admitted  to  the  benefit  of  tliis  provision. 

Aui.  od.  The  principal  anil  interest  of  the  said  debts  shall  be 
discharjfcd  by  the  I  'nited  States  by  orders  drawn  by  their  minister 
plenipotentiary  on  their  treasury;  these  orders  shall  be  payable 
sixty  days  after  the  ex(  hani!;e  of  the  ratifications  of  tin.'  treaty  and 
the  conventions  signed  this  tlay.  and  after  possession  shall  be  <4iven 
of  Louisiana  by  the  commissioners  of  France  to  those  of  the  United 
States. 

AuT.  4th.  It  is  expressly  ai^reetl,  that  the  luccediini;  articles 
sliall  comprehend  no  debts  but  such  as  an-  due  to  citizens  of  the 
Uniied  States,  who  have  been  and  are  yet  creditors  of  France  for 
supplies,  embargoes,  and  for  pri/.es  nuide  at  sea.  in  which  the  ap- 
peal has  been  properly  lodged  within  the  time  mentioned  in  the 
said  convention  of  the  8th  Vendcmiaire,  ninth  year,  (3()th  Septem- 
ber, 1800.) 

Aur.  atli.  The  preceding.';  articles  sliall  apply  only,  ist,  to  cap- 
lures  of  which  tlic  council  of  pri/,os  shall  have  ordered  restitution; 
it  being  well  understood  that  the  claimant  cannot  have  recourse  to 
Hie  United  States  otherwise  than  he  misht  have  had  to  the  {rovem- 


litll 


i« 


%\ 


% 


n 


11 


lii 
I 


\  -:  . 


ijo 


\Pli'.M>l\. 


iiiout  of  tlu!  French  rojniblic,  ami  only  in  case  of  tlie  iiisufiicieiicy 
ol'  the  captors;  .'2(1.  the  debts  meiitiimed  in  the  said  fdlh  article  oi 
the  convention,  contracted  bel'oie  tiie  Sih  Vendemiaiie,  an  9,  (.lOth 
Septcndjer,  I HOO,)  the  payment  ot"  whicli  has  been  heretofore  claimed 
of  the  actual  goverjiment  of  France,  and  for  wliich  tlie  creditors 
have  a  rij;;ht  to  the  protection  of  the  I'nited  States;  the  said  fd'tli 
article  does  n(»t  comprehend  prl/cs  whose  condemnation  has  been 
01'  shall  be  coniirmeil:  it  is  the  express  intention  of  tlic  covitract- 
ing  parties  not  to  extend  liie  benefit  )f  the  present  convention  to 
reclamations  of  American  citi/.eiis,  who  shall  have  established 
houses  of  commerce  in  France,  Fin^land,  or  other  countries  than 
the  United  States,  in  partnership  \vii!i  foreij^iiers,  and  who  by  tliat 
reason  and  the  nature  of  iheii-  commerce  (Mij!;ht  to  be  regarded  a^ 
domiciliated  in  the  places  where  such  houses  exist.  All  agree- 
ments and  bargains  concerning  merchandise,  which  shall  not  be  the 
property  of  American  citi/.ens,  are  e{|ually  excepted  from  the  be- 
nefit of  the  said  convention,  saving,  however,  to  such  ])ersons  tluii 
claims  in  like  manner  as  if  this  treaty  had  not  been  made. 

Art.  Glh.  Anil  that  the  dillerent  (piestions  which  may  arise  uii- 
der  the  preceding  article  may  be  fairly  investigated,  the  ministers 
plenipotentiary  (d' (he  I'liited  States  shall  name  three  persons,  who 
shall  act  from  tlie  j)r(>sent  and  provisionally,  and  who  shall  Iwne 
full  power  to  examine,  without  removing  the  documents,  all  tlie 
accounts  of  the  dillerent  claims  already  liquidated  by  the  bureau 
established  for  this  purpose  by  the  French  republic;  and  to  ascer- 
tain whether  they  belong  to  the  classes  designated  by  the  pre- 
sent convention  and  the  prnciples  established  in  it,  or  if  they  arc 
not  in  one  of  its  exceptions,  anil  on  their  certificate,  declaring  that 
the  debt  is  due  to  an  American  citi/.en  or  his  representative,  and 
that  it  existed  before  the  8th  Vendemiaiie,  ninth  year,  (30th  Sep- 
tember, 18()(».)  the  creditor  shall  be  entitled  to  an  order  on  the 
treasury  ol'  the  United  States,  in  the  manner  i)rcscribed  by  the 
third  article. 

Aki.  rth.  The  same  agents  shall  likewise  have  power,  without 
removing  the  documents,  to  examine  the  claims  which  are  prepared 
for  verification,  and  to  certify  those  which  ought  to  be  admitted  by 
uniting  the  necessary  (|ualilications,  and  not  being  comprised  in 
the  exceptions  coiil  lined  in  the  present  convention. 

Aur.  Htli.  i'he  same  agents  shall  likewise  examine  the  claims 
which  arc  not  prepared  for  Uquidatiim,  and  i  ertify  in  writing  those 
\vhich  III  their  Judgments  ought  to  be  admitted  to  liijuidation. 


\l'l'i;:M>lX. 


Ill 


II 


iisufTiciency 
til  article  oi' 
,  an  9,  (oOtlt 
tore  clainicil 
lie  creditor^ 
he  said  i\(\]\ 
m  has  been 
lie  coiitract- 
mvention  to 

established 
intries  than 
who  by  that 
rci^ai'ded  as 

All  af^ree- 
11  not  be  tlic 
loni  the  bc- 
lersoiis  tlu'if 
ide. 

ay  arise  uir 
lie  ministers 
lersons,  who 
)  shall  have 
ents,  all  the 
r  the  bureau 
nd  to  asccr- 
by  the  pre- 

if  they  are 
daring  that 
;itative,  auil 

(30th  Sen- 
der on  tiic 
ibed  by  the 

ler,  without 
,rc  |)re])ared 
idinitted  by 
inipriscd  in 


the  claims 
iting 
ilation 


riting  those 


Art.  0th.  In  proportion  as  the  debts  iiieiiiioned  in  these  articles 
shall  be  admitted,  they  shall  be  discharged  with  interest  at  six  per 
cent,  by  the  treasury  of  the  I'nited  States. 

Aur.  Kith.  And  that  no  debt  which  >hall  noi  have  the  (jualilica- 
tions  above-nientioneil,  and  that  no  iinjiist  or  e  :orbitant  demand 
mav  be  admitte('  the  coniniercial  anent  of  the  Tni^ed  States  at 
Paris,  or  such  other  a^rnt  as  the  minister  plenipotentiary  of  the 
I'nited  States  shall  think  pioper  to  nominate,  shall  assist  at  the 
operations  of  the  bureau,  and  co-operate  i»  the  examination  of  the 
claims:  and  if  this  aj^ent  shall  be  of  opinion  that  any  debt  is  not 
completely  ])r(»ved,  or  if  he  shall  judge  that  it  is  not  comprised  in 
the  principles  of  tin;  ftfih  article  above-mentioned:  and  if,  notwith- 
standing his  opinion,  the  bureau  established  by  the  I'rench  govern- 
ment slumld  think  that  it  ought  to  be  rnpiidated,  he  shall  transmit 
his  observations  to  the  board  established  by  the  United  States,  who, 
without  removing  the  documents,  shall  make  a  complete  examina- 
tion of  the  debt  and  voucliers  which  support  it,  and  report  the  re- 
sult to  the  minister  of  Mie  Tnited  States.  The  minister  of  the 
United  States  >hall  transmit  his  observations,  in  all  such  cases, 
to  the  minister  of  the  treasury  of  the  Frendi  reimblic,  on  whose 
report  the  French  government  shall  decid(i  definitively  in  every 
case. 

The  rejection  of  any  claim  shall  have  no  other  elVect  than  to  ex- 
empt (he  United  "'lates  from  the  payment  of  it,  the  French  govern- 
ment reserving  to  itself  the  right  to  decide  definitively  on  such 
claim  so  far  as  it  concerns  itself. 

AuT.  nth.  Every  necessary  decision  shall  be  made  in  the  course 
of  a  year,  to  commence  from  the  exchange  of  ratiiicati(.ns.  -'nd  no 
reclamation  shall  be  admitted  afterwards, 

Am.  12th.  In  case  of  claims  for  debts  contracted  by  tin  govern- 
iticiit  of  France  with  citi/.ens  of  the  United  States,  r<ince  the  Stli 
Vendeiniaire,  ninth  year,  {M){\\  September,  1800.)  not  being  com- 
prised in  this  convention,  they  may  be  puisued,  and  the  payment 
demandetl  in  the  same  mannc:-  as  if  it  had  not  been  made. 

Aim.  13th.  The  jirescnt  convention  shall  be  ratified  in  good  and 
due  form,  ami  the  ratifications  shall  be  exchanged  in  six  months 
from  the  date  of  the  signature  of  the  ministers  plenipotentiary,  or 
sooner  if  possible. 

In  faith  of  which,  the  resiieclive  minister.^  pleni|n»tentiary  have 
signed  the  above  articles,  both  in  the  French  and  Knglish  languages; 
declaring,  nevertheless,  that  the  jnesent  treaty  has  been  originally 


■il-lii 


r 


mm  I 

if 


I 


mm 


III 


1^ 


112 


AIM'lvNDIX. 


agreed  on  and  written  in  llie  Frciicli  langiuij^e;  to  which  they  have 
hereunto  allixed  their  seals. 

Done  at  Paris,  tlic  tenth  day  of  Florcal,  eleventh  year  of  tlic 
French  republic,  (oUth  April,  IHo:).) 

JJOni'-RT  R.  LIVINGSTON,  (L.  S.) 
.lAMKS  MONROE,  (1>.  S.) 

J?Alim<:  MAKHOLS.  (L.  S.) 


No.    1. 
coMi'ANv  or  Tin:  indies. 

Order  to  the  agent  of  the  Company  at  Cape  Francois,  respediiv^ 
the  tivo  Chiefs  of  the  Natchez  Indians,  who  had  been  removal 
there  ivith  their  Fa/nUics  from  Louisiana. 

April,  'Zod,  ir3!3. 

It  having  been  stated  that  among  the  Natclie/.  Indians,  taken  in 
■\var,  in  the  month  of  January,  1731.  were  two  chiefs  with  their  lii 
milies,  making  ciglit  persons  in  number,  and  that,  although  tiio 
Sxm,  one  of  the  two  chiefs,  died  on  the  '^2Hth  of  !?'ep*^ember  last,  tiic 
company  had  incurred  on  theii-  account  expenses  to  the  amount  of 
eigliteen  hundred  livres  and  seven  sous;  and  it  having  been  farther 
stated,  that  on  an  application  made  to  M.  de  Maurepas  to  relieve  thn 
company  from  this  charge,  M.  de  Maurepas  had  replied  that  he  v.as 
not  aware  of  any  other  course  to  adopt  than  to  order  the  sale  of  tlie 
survivors  of  these  two  Indian  families,  or  to  send  them  back  to 
Louisiana,  it  was  thereupon  resolved  to  order  forthwiiij  the  sale  ol 
the  survivors  of  the  aforesaid  two  families  of  Natchez  Indians. 


'No.  .">. 

Extract  from  the  Public  Law  of  Europe, 

*'I  BEG  leave  to  comj)are  the  evil  consecjuences  which  resuli 
to  France  from  the  eiiormous  ex))enses  that  her  wars  have  occn 


!i  they  liavo 
year  of  tlir 

-,  {L.S.) 


APl'ENJJlV. 


ii:i 


sioued,  with  those  that  she  has  sustained  from  the  loss  of  several 
provinces  that  she  formerly  possessed  on  the  continent  of  North 
America.  Undouhtodly  this  kingdom  may  be  haj)py  and  very  pow- 
erful without  colonies:  but  it  is  certain  that  its  strength  is  impaired 
by  the  debts  with  which  it  is  burdened." — Droit  PvbUc  dc  VEvropc 
par  Mch/i/,  lorn.  3.     Peace  of  \7(u-,. 


m 


iHii  !!l 


,  respeduhj; 
'en  removed 

id,  173^2. 

is,  taken  iu 
ith  their  fa 
Ithougii  the 
l)er  last,  the 
e  amount  of 
)een  farther 
I  relieve  thi; 
that  he  was 
;  sale  of  the 
2m  back  to 
the  sale  ot 
Indians. 


'hich  result 
i  have  oc'c;i 


So.  (5. 

A'ofc  relalivi:  to  (he  Succemuoii  of  Bavarht. 

'J'he  Elector  of  Uavaria  was  attacked  by  the  small-pox,  a  year 
after  the  inquiry  was  made  respecting  his  health,  and  he  died  of 
the  disease.  The  Austrians  suddenly  entered  Uavaria,  but  France 
M'as  too  far  committed  to  the  Americans  to  recede.  It  was,  indeed, 
at  this  period  that  the  treaty  of  alliance  between  France  and  the 
I.  nited  States  was  signed,  and  it  was  supposed  in  England  that 
France  would  not  be  able  to  avoid  a  continental  war.  It  was  kept  out 
uf  it  principally  by  the  prudence  of  the  ministry.  It  must  also  be  ad- 
mitted that  it  was  greatly  owing  to  the  firmness  and  decision  of  the 
king  of  Prussia  that  the  palatine  brancli  of  the  house  of  liavaria 
preserved  the  ancient  patrimony  of  the  common  stock  of  VVittcl- 
spach.  This  monarch  extricated  France  from  liie  untoward  posi- 
tion iu  which  she  luul  been  placed  by  so  unexjiected  an  event,  and 
for  this  time  Atistria  was  not  brought  into  tli-e  neigiibourhood  of  the 
two  landgraviates  of  Alsace,  the  ancient  inheritance  of  that  power- 
ful liouse.  Perhaps,  in  1815,  she  allowed  it  to  be  too  clearly  seen 
that  one  hundred  and  sixty-seven  years  had  not  sutliced  to  take 
away  from  her  every  hope  of  accomplishing  her  object. 


iNo.  7. 


1  Letter  uvUlen  from  New  Orleans,  lAfh  of  (irtoher,  I8().i,  a  few 
days  (fter  the  Treaty  had  been  nigned  at  Paris. 

TiiK  French  prefect  lias  arrived.     His  declarations  respecting 
the  Americims  are  as   yet  Neiy  friendlv,     IJut  I  suppose  that. 


1 

1 

! 
t 

1 

1 

j 

\ 


f 

ii 


111 

lilt 

itillli 


i 


iw 


111 


AI'l'KXDIX. 


on  the  ostablishincnt  of  tlii;  Kifiiicli  •;ovciniuont,  his  tone  wili 
tiian;:;e.  He  ospocts  Gcnoial  Victor  and  llu;  P'loiidi  troops  belon 
enterinj^  on  his  administration,  Kvory  expedient  will  be  exhausted 
in  order  to  lull  us  into  a  false  security.  All  the  inhabitants  of  this 
country,  except  the  creides,  ardently  desire  to  see  the  people  of  tin 
west  ado|)t  eiieriietic  measures. 

A^'e  are  still  refused  a  ])Iace  of  deposito,  and  have  therefore  tjie 
best  possible  occasion  to  procure  ourselves  satisfaction  for  the  |)asi 
and  security  for  the  future.  W  ue  let  it  j;o  by,  1  fear  that  we  shall 
jiever  regain  it.  A  handful  of  men  would  take  this  place:  they 
would  experience  little  or  no  resistance.  You  uould  be  surprised 
to  see  the  lively  interest  that  the  people  of  the  country  take  in  the 
future  prosperity  of  our  nation,  and  with  what  enthusiasm  tluy 
read  and  repeat  the  speeches  of  those  senators  w  ho  are  in  favour  ol 
an  inunediate  occupation  of  this  place. 

I  earnestly  ])ray  that  our  western  miliiia  may  be  immediately 
etjuipped  and  armed,  so  that  wc  may  not  lose  a  moment  in  puttiu:; 
ourselves  in  a  situation  to  provide  for  our  safety.  Our  enemies  ac 
cuse  us  of  a  wa'u  of  ])ublic  spirit.  'J'he  (Spaniards,  who  arc  settled 
here,  see  their  f!;overnment  on  the  edge  of  a  precipice,  towards 
which  it  is  driven  by  the  intrigues  of  French  policy;  and,  like  peo- 
ple in  despair,  they  no  longer  dare  anticijjate  tlie  future.  They 
are  impatient  at  our  delay,  and  often  express  their  surprise  at  our 
moderation  and  pusillanimity. 

1  fear  that  our  plan  of  negotiations  will  only  be  productive  ol 
delays.  If  it  does  not  succeed,  1  shall  lament  the  unfoitunate  de-^ 
tinies  of  our  degraded  country. 


Ao.  «. 


Extract  of  a  I  Alter  frnni  the  3/uiisfir  Phnipntcntianj  of  the.  Unitf(/ 
Sfalr.s  fo  thv  Frrnr/i  Minhtcr  of  Forrii^n  /IJ/mrs. 

Parh,  December  11//*,  180^2. 
Siu, 

I  iiAVK  just  learned  that  the  government  of  New  Orleans  han 
refused  the  An\ericans  the  right  oi"  deposite  in  that  port,  under  pic- 
tence  that  the  term  stipulated  in  the  treaty  had  expired. 

Ycm  are  not  ignorant,  sir,  of  the  value  which  the  inhabitants  ot 
the  western  statt.'s  attach  to  this  right,  nor  of  the  cnerttv  v  ith  which 


VI'l'KNblX, 


41  j 


.  tono.  will 
oops  belbrt 
i  exiiaiisleil 
ants  of  this 
L'oplc  oC  llu 

lerofoie  tliu 
for  tiiu  pasi 
jat  we  shall 
place:  they 
e  surprised 
take  iji  the 
siasm  they 
u  I'avour  oi 

nmcdlately 
t  in  |)Uttiiiu, 
Micniies  ac 
arc  settled 
e,  towards 
i,  like  peu- 
re.  They 
)rise  at  oiu 

jdiictive  ol 
tiinate  lies 


fhf  Unitid 

//,  180^3. 

hleans  hun 
under  pre- 

abitants  ot 
ivith  which 


tliey  would  defend  it.     Were  the  government,  indeed,  even  indit- 
I'erent  on  th>s  point,  it  would  be  oblij;;etl  to  yield  to  their  views. 

It  is,  sir,  particularly  unfortunate  that  this  dilliculty  should  arise 
at  the  precise  moment  when  France  is  about  enterin;;  on  the  pos- 
session of  the  country.  1  very  much  fear  that  this  circumstance, 
connected  with  the  silence  that  th(<  French  ji^overnment  observes 
respecting;  its  intentions,  mav  induce  suspicious  persons  to  suppose 
that  the  court  of  Spain  has  acted  in  this  matter  alto^-ether  in  con- 
cert with  Fiance.  Althou;ji;Ii  I  loo  justly  appreciate  the  (ipri^ht- 
ness  of  her  ;j;()vernmcut,  to  believe  that  it  would  approve  the  in- 
fraction of  a  treaty,  and  thus  mark,  by  an  act  of  hostility,  the  ])e- 
riod  of  our  becomini;  neighbours,  the  subject  is,  nevertheless,  of  a 
nature  to  recjuire.  on  the  part  of  France,  the  most  prompt  atten- 
tion to  all  those  subj(>cts,  the  disregard  of  whicli  has  excited  the 
Avarmest  sensations  in  the  United  States.  \  avail  myself  of  this  oc- 
casion to  present  to  you  the  sketch  of  a  treaty  which,  I  hope,  will 
procure  for  France  the  i^reatest  advantages,  and  bind  closer  those 
ties  which  all  enlii!;htened  Americans  desire  to  see  exist  between 
her  and  the  Tniled  States. 

In  taking  posscssi(»n  of  Louisiana,  France  can  only  have  three 
objects  in  view:  1st,  (he  command  of  the  gulf;  ;2d.  the  supply  of 
iier  islands;  od.  a  place  of  settlement  for  her  surplus  iidiabitants, 
m  case  of  an  excess  of  population  in  her  Kuropean  j)ossessions. 

Slie  will  ellectually  secuie  the  lirst  object  by  the  possession  of 
Kast  Florida.  There  is  no  port  of  the  least  importance  to  the  west 
of  the  Mississippi. 

The  second  object  will  be  better  answered  by  confining  the  set- 
tlement within  reasonable  limits,  on  ihe  borders  or  at  a  moderate 
distance  from  the  sea,  than  by  dispersing  men  and  capital  over  an 
immense  territory — a  course  of  proceeding  that  would  lead  the  in- 
habitants to  a  migratory  life  and  to  independence,  and  would  com- 
))el  France  ti»  nuiltiply  very  exjiensive  military  establishments  to 
'.trotect  them  against  the  incursions  of  the  fnilians. 

This  country  must  be  peopled  by  foreigners  or  French  emigrants. 
In  the  first  case,  there  is  no  nation  in  Europe  that  can  keep  them 
in  a  state  of  dependence;  for  as  soon  as  the  settlements  extend  a  few 
hundred  miles  fron*  the  borders  of  the  sea,  they  will  be  out  of  reach 
of  its  power.  In  the  second  case,  such  a  quantity  of  men  ami  mo- 
ney will  leave  France  as  to  inllicta  terrible  blow  on  her  agriculture 
and  commerce.     And,  after  all,  they  will  be  indepetident  of  the 


11: 


'»iiiW' 


'''■■'  bS! 


m 


m 


m 
ill 


kl 


110 


\IM»ENf>IX. 


mother  country  iVom  tlio  day  that  they  arc  sutilciently  rich  and  sul- 
liciently  strong  to  do  without  her  assistance. 

1  am  goin;^  to  propose  what  I  believe  to  be  the  true  policy  ol 
France  to  adopt,  and  what  will  fullil  all  her  views,  at  the  saiiu- 
time  that  it  will  he  a  means  of  conciliatini*;  the  attection  of  the 
United  States  and  securinji;  the  permanency  of  tlie  settlement. 

France  should  fust  cede  to  the  United  States  tlie  jiart  of  Loui>i 
ana  whicli  is  above  tlic  mouth  of  the  river  Arkansas;  there  will 
thus  be  between  the  French  part  and  (!anada  a  barrier,  witlioin 
which  the  |iiovince  might  be  easily  attacked  and  lost  to  France  b  ■ 
fore  the  arrival  of  assistance.  Slie  should  retain  tlie  part  wliicli  i- 
west  of  the  Mississi])pi  and  below  the  river  of  the  Arkansas;  \W\< 
territory  can  maintain  a  pojudation  of  iifteen  millions,  and  will 
form  a  barrier  between  the  United  States  and  Mexico  in  case  the 
Americans  should  entertain  the  extravagant  desi;i^n  of  carrying  war 
into  that  coujitry,  which  I  hope  will  never  happen.  France  siiouh! 
cede  to  the  United  States  West  Florida,  New  Orleans,  and  the 
territory  upon  the  left  bank  of  the  jNIississippi.  This  cession  is 
only  valuable  to  the  Americans,  inasmuch  as  it  gives  them  the  em- 
bouchure of  the  Mobile  and  other  small  rivers  which  pass  throu>r|'. 
their  territory,  and  would  calm  their  anxiety  respecting  the  Missi> 
sippi.  If  we  except  a  nanow  strip  of  land  on  the  borders  of  the 
river,  all  this  portion  of  territory  consists  of  sand  barrens  an*' 
marshes,  while  that  which  France  will  retain  to  the  west  of  tli( 
Mississippi  embraces  a  rich  and  fertile  country.  It  may  be  sup- 
posed that  New  Orleans  is  a  place  of  some  importance;  it  is  so 
without  doubt  for  the  United  States,  but  not  for  France.  And  a- 
the  greater  part  of  the  settlements  are  on  tlie  other  bank  of  the 
liver,  it  will  be  recjuisite  to  remove  the  capital  there,  even  thougii 
France  should  remain  in  possession  of  New  Orleans,  a  city  built  in 
wood,  and  for  whi«h  France  will  have  incurred  useless  expeiuli- 
tures  in  public  buildings,  when  the  capital  e-hall  be  removed. 

The  right  of  deposite  claimed  by  the  United  States,  a  right  wliich 
they  will  never  yield,  will  be  between  the  two  nations  a  perjietual 
•jource  of  disputes  and  animosities,  that  will  at  some  time  or  otiicr 
force  the  Uiuted  States  to  aid  a  foreign  power  to  expel  the  French 
from  the  colony.  Independently  of  all  this,  the  capital  at  New 
Orleans  being  almost  entirely  in  the  hands  of  the  Americans,  will 
be  sent  immediately  to  Natthe/,  a  jiost  to  which  the  United  States 
can  give  such  advantages  that  New  (hleans  will  be  of  little  hn 
portance. 


API'F.NDIX. 


II 


lli^i  { 


ichantl  sut 

ic  policy  oi 
it  the  same 
ction  of  the 
lenient, 
rt  of  Loui:?i- 
;  there  will 
ier,  without 
I  France  b( 
art  ^v!lich  i^ 
kansas;  this 
IS,  and  will 
ill  case  the 
;arryin!^  war 
ancc  iiliould 
ns,  and  the 
s  cession  is 
lem  the  em- 
mss  throuirli 
;  the  Mis^i>- 
rders  of  the 
jarreiis  and 
west  of  the 
lay  bo  Slip 
cej  it  is  bd 
0.  And  U' 
jaiik  of  the 
veil  tluiugii 
city  built  oi 
ss  expendi- 
oved. 

right  which 
a  perpetual 
me  or  other 
the  French 
al  at  New 
ricaiis,  will 
lited  .States 
little  iiu 


If  any  other  course  is  adopted,  ///(  irlio/e  setllcment  mil  full  into 
ihc  hands  of  the  En'^lhh^  who,  at  the  same  time  that  they  com- 
mand the  sea,  have  within  reach  a  warlike  colony  possessing  all 
the  means  of  attack;  and  while  their  fleet  blockades  the  harbours, 
they  may,  without  tlie  least  diOiculty,  cause  New  Orleans  to  be  at- 
tacked, through  Canada,  by  fifteen  or  twenty  thousand  men,  aided 
by  hordes  of  Indians. 

France,  by  sei/.ing  on  a  wilderness  and  an  insignificant  city,  and 
thus  throwing  the  United  States  h)lo  the  scale  on  the  utile  of  En<^- 
lamlf  is  plaint!;  to  inuhe  this  power  the  viistrcss  of  the  new  loorld: 
the  possession  of  Louisiana  and  of  the  Trinity  will  put  the  Spa- 
nish colonies  at  her  mercy,  and  by  taking  away  the  Floridas  from 
^^paiu  and  getting  possession  of  the  gulf  of  Mexico,  she  will  com- 
mand the  AVest  Indies;  the  two  Indies  will  pour  their  riches  into 
her  ports;  the  precious  metals  of  Mexico,  united  with  the  treasures 
of  liindostaii,  will  fiirnish  the  means  of  buying  nations,  whose 
forces  she  will  employ  to  secure  her  power. 

Congress  is  now  in  session:  if,  before  it  adjourns,  there  is  no 
treaty  concluded,  or  if  a  minister  is  sent  with  only  powers  to  treat, 
\vithout  being  the  bearer  of  any  thing  decisive,  he  will  have  to 
make  his  way  through  a  thousand  suspicions,  and  a  thousand  jea- 
lousies; and  the  negotiation  once  commenced,  he  will  have  to  con- 
tend against  all  the  intrigues  of  the  court  of  liondon,  which  has 
the  greatest  interest  in  arn'sting  the  success  of  an  aflliir  so  opposed 
(o  its  views. 

\ccept  the  assurances,  &:c. 


Signed)     W.  K.  UN  INfiSTON. 


No.  a 

Memonal  of  the  Legislative  Coniicil  and  House  of  Ihprrsenfafives 
of  the  Mississijipi  Terrilonj  to  the  President,  Senate,  and  House 
of  Representatives  of  the  United  States. 

Vol  It  memorialists  beg  leave  to  express  their  feelings  and  senti- 
ments relative  to  an  event  bv  which  the  interests  of  western  Ame- 
vica  ill  geueial,  and  of  this  territory  in  particular,  are  materially 

•t  tier  fed- 

,lv.' 


illl,  "f 


I  Mil! 
jllUHlll 


'ir.:m. 


I'lll 


11 


^1: 

ii  la- 
lap 


"iW 


ill 


nil 


\i'1'i;m»i\. 


Wliilt^  the  treaty  of  Sail  LoriMi/.o  cl  Uoal  seciircd  tin'.  iVci;  uuvi 
Ration  ol'  tlic  Mississippi,  and  a  convciiii'iit  ])laci'  ol"  dcpositc  fui 
the  meicliaiidise  and  etl'ects  of  American  tiadets,  it  politically  in- 
corporated tliis  country  as  a  part  of  the  United  States.  I'ndei 
this  auspicious  chani:;e,  we  saw  our  tratle  llourisliinu;,  our  projjerty 
risinn;  rapidly  in  value,  and  mc  felicitated  ourselves  in  being  tlic 
free  and  happy  citizens  of  an  independent  republic. 

Reposinj^  in  national  faith  for  a  continued  observance  of  sfipit- 
liifrd  privik'i^es,  we  had  indulj^ed  the  sanguine  expectation  that  tlii; 
state  of  ))rosperity  would  not  have  been  soon  inierriipf<'d. 

The  motives  which  may  have  influenced  the  Spanish  i^overnment 
to  withh(dd  from  us  a  place  of  de|)osite  are  a  subject  of  conjecture: 
but  no  doubt  can  exist  as  to  the  act  itself  being  a  direct  infraction 
of  our  treaty  with  that  nation. 

A  recent  order  by  the  government  of  Louisiana,  proliibiting  ai! 
intercourse  between  the  citizens  of  the  United  States  aiid  tiie  sub 
jccts  of  Spain,  has  considerably  increased  the  embarrassment  upon 
our  trade,  and  breathes  a  spirit  of  still  greater  enmity  to  the  Unilci' 
States. 

Your  memorialists,  conscious  of  the  wisdom,  justice,  and  energy 
of  the  general  government,  rest  assured  that  no  succour  will  be 
withholden  which  e\isting  circumstances  may  refpiirej  and  so  fai 
as  may  depend  on  ourselves,  we  tei\der  to  our  country  our  live? 
and  fortunes  in  support  of  such  measures  as  congress  may  deem 
necessary  to  vindicate  the  honour  and  protect  the  interest  of  tin: 
United  States. 

>VM.  (U)Rn.  KORMAN, 
Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives. 


.lOHN   IH.UIS, 

rresidci\t  of  the  Council 


Council  Chamber. 
January  5,  i8Uo. 


L'.  free  iiavi 
loposit*'  t'ui 
lUically  iii- 
i'!!.  Urnlei 
ur  ])ioi)eit\ 
1  being  thf 

ce  of  slijiv- 
on  that  till- 
d. 

ifovernnu'iii 
coiijectiiro; 
t  iniVuctiou 

ihibitinf;  ul! 
lid  tlif  sub 
siiuMit  upon 
I  the  Uaiicd 

ami  I'liorjiv 
Dur  will  be 
;  and  so  far 
y  our  livc;> 
i  may  doom 
crest  of  till: 


ntativob 


MM'l',\|i|\. 


No.  KK 


in> 


'^limorUil  fo  llw  Pi'eaiihnt,  Senate,  omf  ffnirsr  of  lirpresentalives 

of  fjie  f'liUrd  Stairs. 

Jaiiuari/^  1 803. 

Yorii  mcmoiiulists,  iiiiiabitanis  of  the  sfafes  west  of  tlic  Alle- 
'^IvMiy  Mountains,  humbly  state  that  the  |)oit  of  Now  Orleans  is 
closed  to  them  by  a  decree  of  the  Spanish  intendant;  that  they  owe 
the  United  .States  taxes  which  have  just  accrued,  as  well  as  larj^c 
arrearaj^os,  and  that  they  have  no  otlier  means  to  pay  them  but  the 
produce  of  their  farm>,  Tliat,  excluded  as  they  are  from  a  market 
in  the  east  for  their  produce,  it  must  rot  in  tlioir  <!;runaries,  unless 
the  government  consents  to  receive  it  from  them  at  a  reasonable 
price,  or  protects  theni  in  the  enjoyment  of  a  lawful  trade;  that 
they  liumbly  conceive  tliat  prompt  and  decisive  measures  are  ne- 
cessary, the  maxim  that  jjiotoction  and  allej^iance  are  reciprocal 
being  particularly  applicable  to  their  situation.  In  announcing 
tlicir  confidence  in  the  government  of  the  Union,  and  in  giving  as- 
surances of  their  co-operation  in  all  the  measures  that  may  be 
adopted  to  cause  the  just  rights  of  every  portion  of  the  United 
States  to  be  respected,  they  declare  that  they  have  a  right  to  ro.- 
cjuire,  and  do  require  that  the  government  shall  either  take  mea- 
sures to  guaranty  the  exercise  (jf  a  legitimate  right  or  release  them 
from  every  contribution  wliatever.  A\'ithout  interfering  in  the 
measures  that  have  been  adopted  to  bring  about  the  amicable  ar- 
rangement of  a  ditVorencc.  wliich  has  grown  out  of  the  gratuitous 
violation  of  a  solemn  treaty,  they  desire  tint  the  United  States 
may  explicitly  understand  that  their  situ;  tion  is  critical;  that  the 
delay  ot  only  a  single  season  would  be  ruinous  to  their  country,  and 
diat  an  imperious  necessity  may  consecpiently  oblige  them,  if  they 
receive  no  aid,  to  ailopt  themselves  the  nK.-asures  tliat  may  appear 
to  them  calculated  to  protect  their  commerce,  even  though  those 
measures  should  produce  conse<iuciiccs  unlavounvble  to  the  luumo- 
ny  of  tiie  confederacv. 


; 


ii^ 


SP 


T 

mi 


ft 


'm 


m- 


■m 


.  m 


12(» 


VI'I'KNDIX. 


No.  11. 

Exti'ud  of  H  Leila;  ilaftd  \(ifc/iez,  lo///  .ijtri/,  IK(J.3. 

Pi  in.ic  opinion  is  Ium-c  in  a  sfatc  of  (he  <^ioa<0!it  oxcitcment.  Tin.' 
Spaniards  have  iiisiillcd  and  iiijnri'il  us,  and  we  have  borne  witii 
them;  we  niiirlit,  witliout  striu  .  j;  a  blow,  liave  sei/.ed  on  New  Or- 
leans, the  paUadiiun  of  the  west.  'I'hey  have  provoked  our  pride: 
they  have  seen  that  neither  interest  nor  national  honour  can  deter 
mine  the  American  cabinet  to  act  with  energy.  We  liave,  in  truth, 
sliown  to  the  universe  tiiat  we  are  well  disposed  to  plate  our  exitl 
cnce  at  the  mercy  oi  foreign  nations. 

The  French  arc  in  possession  of  New  Orleans.  I  have  seen  the 
proclamation,  or  rather  manifesto  of  the  prefect.  It  is  like  all  the 
other  French  manifestoes.  'J'here  is  not  a  well-informed  man  in 
this  territory  who  does  not  perceive  that  our  country  is  ruined. 
Moreover,  it  is  the  president  alone  wlio  is  to  bhime.  It  is  he  who 
by  his  pusillanimity  has  allowed  the  blood  of  the  west  to  stau;nate. 
and  in  order  better  to  secure  our  destruction,  he  has,  witliout  ihr 
least  op])osition,  allowed  our  most  cruel  enemy  to  put  his  inexora- 
ble hand  on  the  mouth  of  the  artery  throui];h  which  alone  the  blood 
can  circulate. 

In  a  word,  my  dear  sir,  we  are  convinced  that  we  nnist  familia- 
rize ourselves  to  the  colonial  and  military  despotism  (tf  Bonaparte. 
The  inhabitants  residing  near  the  western  waters  will  necessaril} 
be  ruled  I)}-  those  who  dispose  of  their  productions.  Those  wiio 
can  ilo  so  are  pieparing  to  put  themselves  under  the  prudent  and. 
?^table  governments  of  New  England. 


No.  12. 

Copy  of  a  LctU'i'  from  M.  Talln/rand  to  J\li\  Livingston,  dated 
Pans,  9Af/i  March,  iS(),">. 

Paris,  1  (hnniual,  Wthycur,  {^24lh  Marcli,  1803.) 


Siu, 


1  see  with  pleasure  by  the  last  letters  of  the  French  legation 
to  the  United  States,  that  the  species  of  fermentation  raised  theio 
on  account  of  Louisiana,  has  been  brought  down  by  the  wisdom  ot 


\I»1'KN'U1X. 


I'JI 


I'  'i:ti'i 


[HO  J. 

ment.  Tiio 
borm*  with 
)ii  New  Or- 
I  our  pride: 
•  can  dctcr- 
/e,  in  truth, 
c  our  fxi^i 

vc  seen  the 
like  all  tlw^ 
ucd  man  in 
f  is  ruined. 
,  is  lie  who 
to  staj^nate. 
ivithout  the 
lis  incxora- 
c  the.  blood 

ist  familia- 
Bonaparte, 
netessaril} 
Those  wIiH 
udent  and. 


Oil.  dated 


1803.) 

:li  lej^atiuu 
lised  tlieri' 
wisdom  til 


vDiir  ^overn^nent,  mid  the  Ju*t  coufuliMue  which  it  inspires,  to  thai 
<(ati' of  (rain|uiHitv  whirh  is  alone  suited  to  dis(  iis>ii)iis.  and  whieli, 
m  (he  jidatioiis  of  sentiment  and  interest  e\i>liii;i;  between  the  two 
people,  caiiiuit  but  lead  them  t(»  understand  one  another  lespect- 
lUj^-  mere  acciilental  ilidiculties,  and  to  bind  more  closely  tiu'  bunds 
of  their  union.  I  nuiilil  to  own  to  y(»u.  sir,  that,  in  the  cdat  whicti 
■  las  Ix'cn  so  lat(dy  i^iven  in  your  eountrv  to  matters  coniu'cted 
with  Louisiana,  it  has  been  dillitult  to  discover  (lie  ancient  sen- 
timents of  attachment  ami  of  conlidence  with  whi(h  France  has 
ever  endeavoured  to  inspire  tlie  peo|)le  of  tlie  •  nitid  Slates,  who, 
iVom  the  first  moment  ol  their  exi^ti  iice  as  an  iiulrpeiident  and 
-,overeiij;ii  nation,  ha\e  always  held  their  relations  v,ith  France 
above  all  other  political  conne\ion->. 

How  could  the  nci!;hbourh(MKl  ot"  France  alVect  uidavotirably  the 
\merican  people,  eitli 'r  in  their  comniert  iai  or  poiitical  relations  r 
J  las  tl.H',  French  republic  e\i'r  shown  a  desire  to  inipede  the  pros- 
perity of  the  I'nited  States,  to  lessen  their  iidluence,  to  weaken 
the  means  of  their  security,  or  oppose  any  obstacle  to  the  progress 
of  their  commerce  i-  Vour  irovernment,  sir,  ouiiht  to  be  well  per- 
suaded that  the  lirst  consul  ber.rs  to  the  American  nation  the  same 
atVcction  with  which  France  has  been  at  all  times  ainmatctl,  and 
chat  he  considers  the  new  means  which  tlie  posse.■^>ion  of  Lou- 
isiana aiVurd  him  of  convincinj;-  the  j;uvernment  and  people  ot  the 
I'nited  Stales  of  his  friendly  di.■^po^ilion  t(»wards  them,  in  the  num- 
ber ot"  the  advantai^es  which  niust  result  Ironi  that  ac(|uisition. 

I  shall,  tor  the  present,  coidine  myself  to  this  declaration,  which 
<)Uy;ht  to  remove  the  di-i(rus(  that  ap])eais  in  your  la^t  letters.  'I'he 
mlormation  that  lia>  been  recciveii  is  not  suliicient  to  authoii/.e  a 
detailed  explanation.  In  announcing;  to  me,  moreover,  the;  ap- 
jiroachin*^  departure  yA  Mr.  Monroe,  appointed  minister  extraor- 
dima-y  to  discuss  this  subject,  you  j^lve  uie  to  conclude  that  your 
iovennncnt  desires  that  this  niinistei-  bv^  waited  fur  and  heard,  in 
order  tliat  every  matter,  susceptilile  of  conti'adiction,  be  complete- 
ly and  delinilivelv  discussed  :  In  the  nu-an  time,  sir,  the  iirst  con- 
sul charu;es  me  to  assure  vour  !2;overnment,  that,  far  from  thinkins; 
that  our  new  position  in  Louisiana  could  be  an  object  of  solicitude, 
or  cause  the  Uiast  injury  to  the  rnlted  States,  he  will  receive  the 
minister  extraordinary  whom  the  |)resi(lent  sends  to  him  with  the 
■.iieatest  plcasuie.  and  tliat  he  hopes  liiat  hi.-,  mission  will  terminate 
'>  the  satisfaction  of  both  nations. 

til.   M.    rALL!:\  U  \M). 


liil 


iiim  ii||^ 


n  t 


i 


III 


rfi 


\1'1 


WV-V.WtW. 


No.  i:{. 

Copif  of  II  Li  tin'  from  liohirl  /»'.  /.ii'liip^sfon  In  Mr,  Moiirnr^  datrti 
/'iiris,  IW/i  Jlpril,  ISO;!. 

Dkau  Si  is, 

[  t()ii<5ni(iil;ito  ynii  on  your  sale  arrival.  AV'o  lia\c  long  aiul 
anxiously  'vishod  for  you.  (uhI  <>;rant.  tii:;t  your  mission  may  an- 
swer yours  anil  tlie  public  expectation.  War  may  do  sometliiiiL^ 
for  us,  nothinn-  else  would.  J  have  i)aved  the  way  for  you,  aiul  it 
vou  could  add  to  my  memoirs  an  assurance  tiiat  we  were  now  in 
possession  of  New  Orleans,  we  should  do  well:  but  I  detain  Mr. 
lientalou,  who  is  impatient  to  lly  to  the  arms  of  his  wife.  I  have 
apprised  the  minister  of  your  arrival,  and  told  him  you  would  he 
here  on  Tuesday  or  >\  ednesday.  I'resent  my  compliments  aiul 
Mrs.  L's.  to  Mrs.  Monroe,  and  believe  me,  dear  sir, 
Your  friend,  and  humbh     orvant, 

lU)         n.  LIVINGSTON. 

To  his  Excellcnrv  Jamks  Monrok. 


\o.  1  i. 

Jh't'irlr  od  of  the  Trrafy  conchulrd  at  St.  ildi'phonso  on  tin'  \sf  of 

Odobvr.  1 800. 


"  Ills  Catholic  Majesty  promises  and  engages,  on  his  part,  tn 
rctrocede  to  the  Krench  republic,  six  months  after  the  full  and  eu- 
tire  executio?!  of  tlu-  conditions  and  stipulations,  herein  relative  id 
His  lloyal  Highness  tiie  Duke  of  Parnui,  the  colony  or  province  ol 
Louisiana,  with  the  same  extent  that  it  now  has  in  tlie  hands  of 
Spain,  ami  that  it  had  w  lieu  France  possessed  it;  and  such  as  it 
should  be  after  the  treaties  subsequently  entered  into  between 
Spain  and  other  states." 


w 


\|'|'i;m>i\. 


12;{ 


,J!.I, 


viro(\  (luted 


c  long  ami 
on  may  an- 
»  sonictliinL" 
you,  and  it 
ere  now  in 
detain  Mr. 
iff.  1  hav(' 
u  would  1)1' 
inieuts  and 


(iSTON. 


)  //ir  I. If  of 

his  part,  tn 
lull  and  cn- 
i  relative  io 
province  ol 
le  hands  ot 
1  such  as  it 
to  between 


No.    ITj. 

Extract  ffOhi  u  Mininir  of  Mr.  ./unir-i  Monroe^  puljU>,lml  iiflcr  his 
ntircmvnl  from  the  /'roiidinci/. 

Viri^imu,  18iiH. 

Mv  Hicpption  by  the  French  {government,  in  my  second  mission, 
on  my  rccurn  in  I8().">,  was  as  kind  and  Iriendly  as  could  have  been 
expected  iVom  wliat  had  before  occurred.  That  the  mission  con- 
tributed to  the  result  contemplated — to  prevent  war,  and  secure  to 
us,  by  the  treaties  which  were  then  concluiled  with  the  Kreiich  <;o. 
vernment,  not  only  the  free  navij;ation  (ti  the  Mississippi,  but  all 
Louisiana,  M.  'ralleyrand's  letter  to  Mr.  Fiivin^ston,  which  was 
written  after  my  ap|)ointment  was  known  in  France,  while  1  was 
at  sea,  Mr.  liivingston's  letter  tu  me  'n  reply  to  mine,  announcing 
my  arrival  at  Havre,  and  the  extract  Horn  Colonel  Mercer's  jour- 
nal of  what  passed  between  Mi'.  Livingston  and  sue  on  the  evening 
of  my  arrival  in  Paris,  will  distinctly  show.  >L  Talleyrand  states, 
in  explicit  terms,  that  the  first  consul  thought  it  in\proper  to  com- 
mence a  nejrotiation,  on  the  grouml  of  aVlr.  Livingston's  complaints, 
until  ]\L*.  Monroe,  the  minister  extraordinary,  whom  the  president 
had  appointed  to  discuss  the  subject,  should  arrive,  and  be  heard, 
that  every  matter  susceptible  of  contradiction  might  be  completely 
and  definitively  discussed.  He  states,  also,  that  the  first  consul 
had  charged  him  to  assure  our  government,  that,  far  from  thinking 
that  their  new  position  in  liOuisiana  c(tuld  be  an  object  of  solici- 
tude, or  cause  the  least  injury  to  the  I'nitcd  States,  he  would  re- 
ceive the  minister  extraordinary  whom  the  president  had  sent  to 
liim,  with  the  greatest  pleasure,  and  that  he  hoped  that  this  mission 
would  terminate  to  the  satisfaction  of  both  states.  Mr.  liiving- 
ftton  congratulates  inc  on  my  arrival,  and  ex])resses  an  ardent  de- 
sire that  my  mission  may  answer  mine  and  the  public  expectation. 
War,  he  says,  may  do  something  for  us;  nothing  else  would:  that 
he  had  paved  the  way  for  me  by  his  memoirs;  and,  if  I  could  add 
to  theni  an  assurance  that  we  were  in  jjossession  of  New  Orleans, 
we  miglit  do  well.  AN'ith  llie  sentiments  contained  in  this  letter, 
those  which  were  declared  by  Mr.  l^ivingston,  after  m^'  arrival  in 
Paris,  were  in  strict  accord,  as  ap])cars  by  the  extract  from  Colo- 
nel Mercers  journal  of  what  passed  in  our  first  into»vicw.     On 


III  ll ' 


'    M 


il 


m 


421 


Al'FK.VDlN, 


hc'iw^  inlonnod  lliat  tin;  inolion  \vliic.li  liad  l)oea  luado  in  tlio  souati'. 
ior  tiikiii!^  j)OSSCT^sioii  of  Now  OrU-aiis  hy  lorco  lia!.l  lailcd,  lie  ex- 
pressed Ills  regret  at  it,  under  a  Itcliel"  that  lorce  (tnly  ctiuld  j;,ive  ii 
to  us.  It  is  just  to  observe,  (lial,  in  expics^ino-  this  opinion,  31i'. 
Livin<rston  showed  no  exciteiiietit  whatever,  hut  appeared  to  speu'. 
under  a  tiiorou;i;]i  conviction  of  what  he  helieved  to  be  the  fixed  po- 
licy of  the  French  <i:overinueiit,  founded  on  his  coniJiHinicafiuiis 
with  the  ministers,  and  wl.at  he  knew  of  the  character  and  polu y 
of  the  Hrst  consul  in  other  respects  It  aHords  me  jdea^ure  to  aihl. 
that,  in  the  negotiation  wldch  was  comn'.ented  immediately  after- 
wards, and  in  the  result  procured  by  tlie  tieaties  in  which  it  termi- 
nated, <|;reat  harmony  pievailed  Ijetween  Mr.  Liviniistoii  and  niv 
seh'. 

Th.  reprcsent.atiuii  then  made  to  me,  and  hy  authority  entitled  te 
confidence,  was  that  the  fu'.>t  consul  havin<f  his  cabinet  assembled  ul 
St.  I.  loud,  and  walking-  in  the  <.i;arden  with  the  members  who  com- 
posed it,  luiviii;.';  heard  of  the  arrival  of  the  minister  cxtraordiiiai y 
at  Havre,  communicated  to  them  the  fact,  and  then  observed  that 
the  negotiation  should  be  immediately  commenced,  and,  aildressiiiji; 
himself  to  M.  Marbois,  added,  that  "  beiiij;;  an  affair  of  the  trea- 
sury, 1  will  commit  it  to  you.""  His  motive  for  commitlin<>;  the  nc- 
j^otiation  to  M.  Marbois,  and  in  a  manner  not  to  wound  tlie  feel- 
ings of  M.  Talleyrand,  may  be  re;idily  conceived.  It  was  added, 
by  the  same  authority,  that,  until  that  monrent,  so  decided  was  be- 
lieved to  be  the  purpose  of  the  first  consul,  to  cede  no  portion  of 
the  territory  in  ([uestion,  anil  unchangeable  his  views,  after  niakiii^' 
a  decision,  that  none  of  his  minister^  would  have  ventured  to  jiro- 
pose  it  to  him.  The  sum  su>>,i;;e;-teil  iti  the  iir^l  interview'  with  M 
Marbois,  as  that  which  his  t.'o\>'rnment  had  a  vidit  to  claim  for  tliis 
territory,  wa<  one  hundred  and  twenty  millions  of  francs,  the  es- 
timated valuiof 'J'uscany,  which  had  been  ^i\on  for  it:  but,  thi? 
was  not,  insisted  on,  nor  e\pli(  itly  proposed.  It  was  the  subject 
only  of  free  communication.  The  hrst  proposition  which  he  nuule- 
was  that  we  should  give  lor  it  eii;hfy  million.-,  of  which  sixty  should 
be  paid  to  Franco  in  cash,  in  one  year,  in  Paris — the  other  twcnt;, 
to  our  own  citi/.ens;  and  that  tl:c  vessels  and  u;oods  of  Franct 
should  be  pc^rpetually  exem[)ted,  in  the  ports  of  the  ceded  territo- 
ry, from  foreimi  duties.  The  chan;^e  which  was  made,  iiy  the  pay- 
nieiit  in  stock,  instead  id"  cash,  with  the  limitation  of  the  exemptioK 
ol"  French  Aessels  and  ,;oods  from  turei^n  duties,  to  twelve  years. 
^nih  evorv  oCxm-  chan:';e.  fyov?  this  project,  was  the  cllcct  of  iieao 


Al'PEN'DIX. 


125 


yy-mi 


1  ilio  scniiti'. 
i!('(l,  he  px- 
■liiild  ;j,iv('  it 
ipinion,  Mv. 
red  to  spoiik 
■he  fixed  po- 
iniinica(i(i!!s 
'  and  policy 
sure  to  add, 
iately  aftci- 
icli  it  tcnni- 
Oil  and  iiiv 

y  entitled  (c 
jsseiiiblod  at 
rs  who  com- 
"ctraordinarv 
bserved  that 
,  aihiressiuii 
of  the  trea- 
tiiii^  the  nc- 
ind  the  foci- 
was  adiled, 
ided  was  be- 
0  portion  of 
d'ter  makiiiy.- 
lued  to  pro- 
?Av  with  -M 
hiim  for  thi^ 
uic?,  the  o?i- 
it:  but,  thi- 
the  subject: 
eh  he  niade. 
sixty  .shouk! 
tlier  twcnl} 
s  of  France 
dcd  territo- 
i>y  ilie  pay- 
li  oxeuiptiOK 
'elve  years. 
i?\;t  of  neue 


liation  and  acconiinodation.  I  add  with  pleasure  that  ihc  conduct 
of  M.  Marbois,  in  every  stage  of  the  nejfotiation,  was  liberal,  can- 
did, and  fair,  indicating  a  very  friendly  feeling  for  the  ( ■  nifed  States, 
and  a  strong  desire  to  preserve  the  most  amicable  relations  between 
the  two  countries. 

It  is  just  to  state,  that  the  frank,  candid,  and  friendly  conduct 
of  the  two  great  houses  of  Hope,  of  Amsterdam,  and  of  Baring, 
of  London,  by  offering  to  us  loans  to  any  amount  we  might  requue, 
at  the  usual  interest,  rendered  to  the  United  States  essential  ser- 
vice in  the  negotiation.  We  had  reason  to  Relieve,  that  the  know- 
ledge of  those  otters,  and  tlie  confidence  with  which  it  inspired  the 
French  government,  that  our  stock  might  be  converted  through  them 
into  cash,  at  a  fair  price,  aided  us  in  prevailing  on  that  government 
to  accept  the  payment  in  stock,  and  to  lessen  the  amount  demand- 
ed for  the  territory  ceded. 


Some  time  afterwards,  Mr.  Monroe,  correcting  this  first  me- 
!noir,  thus  expressed  himself  in  a  letter  to  M.  Marbois. 

''Oakhill,  Virg'nla,  .Qpril  Atlu  1828. 

"  I  have  said,  in  my  memoir,  that  at  our  first  interview  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty  millions  of  francs  were  asked  for  the  cession  of  the 
territory  of  Louisiana.  I  have  since  reviewed  the  authentic  docu- 
ments, and  admit  that  I  was  mistaken;  and  that  although  you  may 
have  mentioned  this  sum  as  the  estimated  value  of  the  territory,  you 
never  asked  it.  You  only  asked  the  eighty  millions  that  are  stipu- 
lated in  the  treaty.  I  have  had  sincere  pleasure,  on  discovering 
this  error,  to  correct  it  without  any  observation  on  your  part,  for 
never  was  a  transact'on  of  such  importance  conducted  with  moie 
candour  and  honour. 

"I  have  given  an  account  of  these  events,  so  important  for  France 
and  the  world.  I  am  one  of  the  witnesses  who  have  taken  the 
deepest  interest  in  them. 

(Signed)     r.VMES  MONROE.'' 


' 


i«'(i 


>  i  I 


II I  ill 

iii 


iiiiii 


54 


ill'. 
I .(« •" 


iiiiijl 

II 

7  Iiiiii. 

m 
ill 


m 


420 


\l'l'ENL»l\. 


No.   Hi. 


Grant  to  the  Foniih/  of  the  lute  Mr.  ./ef/'frsou.  In/  the  Stale  of  Lou- 
iniaria,  an  a  mark-  of  its  <j^fatiti(de. 

When  Thomas  Jeft'erson  died,  assurances  of  public  aft'ectiou 
were  transmitted  to  liis  family  from  all  parts  of  the  Unioa,  accom- 
panied by  <!;raiits  from  the  lej^islative  assemblies,  and  from  commit- 
tees that  were  formed  in  the  princi|)al  cities.  Those  proceedinj!;s 
gave  a  new  contradiction  to  the  maxiui,  so  freijuently  repeated, 
that  republics  are  unj^rateful. 

Mr.  Johnson,  jjovernor  of  Louisiana,  addressed  a  message  on 
this  subject  to  the  house  of  representatives.  The  committee,  to 
whom  it  was  referred,  state  in  their  report,  that — 

"Thomas  JeHcrson,  one  of  the  ])rincipal  founders  of  those  libe- 
ral institutions,  whidi  are  the  envy  of  so  many  other  nations,  has 
died  in  poverty;  he  who  has  contributed  to  consolidate  our  social 
edifice  has  claims  on  the  gratitude  of  all  the  states  of  the  Union. 
But  Louisiana  owes  hiui  even  more  than  the  rest:  it  is  he  who, 
from  a  dependent  volony,  has  made  her  a  free  state,  &e."' 

In  confiMinity  with  this  re|)ort,  the  leji,islature,  on  the  iGtli  ol 
March,  18'27,  passed  the  following  act: — 

"Thomas  Jetlerson,  after  a  life  devoted  to  the  service  of  his 
country  and  of  human  nature,  has  died,  leaving  to  his  children  as 
their  only  inlieritance  the  example  of  his  virtues  and  the  gratitude 
of  the  peo|)le  whose  independence  he  has  proclainied  to  the  uni- 
verse. The  legislature  of  Louisiana,  a  state  acquired  for  the  Union 
by  his  wisdom  and  forcsiglit,  owes  to  him  her  political  and  civil  li- 
berty; and,  to  perpetuate  the  remembrance  of  her  profound  respect 
for  the  talents  and  virtues  of  this  illustrious  benefactor,  it  is  enact- 
ed by  the  senate  and  house  of  lepresentatives  of  Louisiana,  in  ge- 
neral assembly  convened,  that  ten  thousanil  dollars  be  transmittal 
to  Thomas  Jeft'erson  Randolph,  for  the  benefit  of  the  family  of 
Thonius  Jeilerson.*' 


ate  of  Lou- 


c  afteclioii 
lOd,  accom- 
iin  commit- 
)roceeilin}:!;a 
f  lepeatoil; 


iiessage  on 
iimittee,  to 


those  libc- 
lations,  has 
i  our  social 
the  Union. 
;  is  he  who, 

.he  iGth  of 

t'vice  of  his 
childieu  as 
le  gratitude 
to  the  uni- 
r  the  Union 
md  civil  li- 
Lind  respect 
it  is  enact- 
iana,  in  gc- 
transinittcd 
J  familv  ol 


'lIJi; 


"NDiX. 


127 


No.  17. 

Extract  from  the  Dcchir  ilion  of  TTar,  made  by  Congress  on  the 

\Sthof  June,  1812. 

FuE  statement  of  grievances  wliicii  congress  published  did  not, 
like  the  manifestoes  traced  by  the  docile  hand  of  a  secretary  under 
the  dictation  of  a  minister,  contain  motives  for  war  which  reason 
and  justice  disavowed. 

"  By  the  blockade  of  the  whole  coast  of  the  continent  from  the 
Elbe  to  Brest  inclusive,''  says  tliis  document,  "the  well-established 
principles  of  the  law  of  nations,  principles  which  have  served  for 
ages  as  guides  and  fixed  the  boundaries  between  the  rights  of  bel- 
ligerents and  neutrals,  were  violated.  By  the  law  of  nations,  as 
recognised  by  Great  Britain  herself,  no  blockade  is  lawful,  unless 
it  be  sustained  by  the  application  of  an  a(lc(|Uiite  force,  and  that  an 
ade([uate  force  was  a[)plied  to  this  blockade  in  its  full  extent,  ought 
not  to  be  pretended.  **#**# 

''  Under  the  pietext  of  impressing  British  seamen,  our  fellow- 
elri/ens  are  sei/.ed  in  lirilisli  ports,  on  the  high  seas,  and  in  every 
(juarter  to  which  the  Britisli  power  extend.^,  are  taken  on  board 
British  men-of-war,  and  compelled  to  serve  there  as  British  sub- 
jects. In  this  mode  our  citizens  ;ire  wantonly  snatched  from  their 
country  and  their  fauiilies,  deprived  of  their  liberty,  and  doomed 
to  an  ignominious  and  slavish  bondage,  compelled  to  fight  the  bat- 
tles of  a  foreign  country,  and  often  to  perish  in  them.  Our  Hag  has 
given  them  no  protection,  it  has  been  unceasingly  violated,  and  our 
vessels  exposed  to  danger  by  the  loss  of  the  men  taken  from  them. 

"  Whether  the  British  government  has  contributed  by  active 
measures  to  excite  against  us  the  hostility  of  the  savage  tribes  on 
our  frontiers,  your  committee  are  not  disposed  to  occupy  much 
time  in  investigating.  Certain  indications  of  general  notoriety  may 
supply  the  place  of  authentic  documents;  though  these  have  not 
been  wanting  to  establish  the  fact  in  some  instances.  It  is  known 
that  symptoms  of  British  hostility  have  never  failed  to  produce  cor- 
responding symptoms  among  those  tribes.  It  is  also  well  known 
that  on  all  such  occasions,  abundant  supplies  of  the  ordinary  muni- 
tions of  war  have  been  ailbrded  by  the  agents  of  British  commer- 


m. 


w 


II 


!li 


"!'•!. 


; 


i! 


12a 


\l'l'K,M»l\, 


cial  companies,  and  even  tVoni  IJritisIi  garrisons,  therewith  they 
were  enabled  to  commence  tliat  system  of  savage  warfare  on  our 
frontier,  uhicli  has  been  at  all  times  indiscriminate  in  its  eftects  on 
all  ages,  sexes,  and  conditions,  and  so  revolting  to  luinianity. 

"  Your  committee  would  be  nuidi  gratified  if  they  could  close 
here  the  detail  of  British  wrongs;  but  it  is  their  duty  to  recite  ano- 
ther act  of  still  greater  malignity  than  any  of  those  which  have  been 
already  brought  to  view.  The  attempt  to  dismember  our  Union 
and  overthrow  our  excellent  constitution,  by  a  secret  mission,  the 
object  of  which  was  to  foment  discontent  and  excite  insurrection 
against  the  constituted  authorities  of  the  nation,  as  lately  disclosed 
by  the  agent  employed  in  it,  attords  full  proof  that  there  is  no 
bound  to  the  hostility  of  tlie  British  government  towards  the  United 
States — no  acl,  however  unjustifiable,  which  it  would  not  commit 
to  accomplish  their  ruin.  This  attempt  excites  the  greater  horror 
from  the  consideration  that  it  was  made  while  the  United  States 
and  Great  Britain  were  at  peace,  and  an  amicable  negotiation  was 
pending  between  them  for  the  accommodation  of  their  dift'erences 
through  ministers  regularly  authorized  for  the  purpose.'' 


No.  18. 


(The  following  instructions  from  Mr.  Madison,  secretary  of  state. 
to  Messrs.  Livingston  and  Monroe,  with  their  despatch  accompa- 
nying the  Louisiana  treaty,  arc  taken  from  a  message  of  the  presi- 
dent of  the  United  States  to  the  senate,  dated  20th  of  May,  1820. 
Though  not  inserted  in  the  original  work,  they  are  deemed  a  proper 
supplement  to  the  French  plenipotentiary's  history  of  that  impor- 
tant diplomatic  transaction. — Tuansl.) 


Mr.  Madhon,  Secretary  of  State  of  the  United  States,  to  Messrs. 
Robert  li.  Livingston  and  James  Mopj'OC,  Ministers  Plenipoten- 
tiary of  the  United  States  to  Franre,  doted  Department  of  State, 
March f 'Zd,  VS05. 

Gentlemen: — You  will  herewith  receive  a  commission  and  letters 
of  credence,  one  of  you  as  minister  plenipotentiary,  the  other  a-; 
minister  extraordinary  and  plenipotentiary,  to  treat  with  tiic  go 


:'ltt< 


APPENDIX. 


129 


ewitli  they 
I  re  on  our 
;  cftects  on 
iiity, 

oultl  close 
recite  ano- 
have  been 
our  Union 
lission,  the 
isurrection 
f  disclosed 
here  is  no 
the  United 
lot  commit 
iter  horror 
ted  States 
tiation  was 
difterences 


of  state, 
accompa- 
presi- 
ly,  1826. 
a  proper 
hat  impor  • 


the 
lay. 


fo  Messrs. 
^Icnipoferh 
I  of  S(ut(\ 

and  letter-^ 
e  other  as 
th  tlic  go 


vcrnment  of  the  French  republic  on  the  subject  of  the  Mississippi 
and  tlie  territories  eastward  tliercof,  and  without  the  limits  of  the 
United  folates  The  object  in  view,  is  to  procure,  by  just  and  sa- 
tisfactory arrangements,  a  cession  to  the  United  States  of  New 
Orleans,  and  •f  West  and  East  Florida,  or  as  mucli  thereof  as  the 
actual  propriet  >r  can  be  [)revailed  on  to  part  with. 

Tiie  French    epublic  is  understood  to  have  become  the  proprietor, 

by  a  cession  from  .Spain,  in  the  year ,  of  New  Orleans,  as  part 

of  Louisiana,  if  not  of  the  Floridas  also,  ll  the  Floridas  should 
not  have  been  then  included  in  tlie  cession,  it  is  not  improbable  that 
they  will  iiave  been  since  added  to  it. 

It  is  foreseen  that  you  may  have  a  considerable  dilliculty  in  over- 
coming the  repugnance  and  the  prejudices  of  the  French  govern- 
ment, against  a  transfer  to  the  United  States  of  so  important  a  part 
of  the  acquisition.  The  apparent  solicitude  and  exertions,  amidst 
many  embarrassing  circumstances,  to  carry  into  elVect  the  cession 
made  to  the  French  republic,  the  reserve  so  long  u^ed  on  this  sub- 
ject by  the  French  government,  in  its  communications  willi  the  mi- 
nister of  the  United  Stales  at  Paris,  and  the  declaration  finally 
made  by  the  P'rencli  minister  of  foreign  relations,  that  it  was  meant 
to  take  possession  before  any  overtures  fiom  the  United  States 
would  be  discussed,  show  the  importance  which  is  attached  to  the 
territories  in  question.  On  the  otlier  hand,  as  tlie  United  States 
have  the  strongest  motives  of  interest  and  of  a  paciiic  policy,  to 
,-eek  by  just  means  the  establishment  of  the  Mississippi,  down  to 
its  mouth,  as  their  boundary,  so  tlu'ie  are  considerations  wiiich  urge 
on  France  a  concurrence  in  so  natural  and  so  convenient  an  arrange- 
ment. 

Notwithstanding  the  circumstances  which  have  been  thoujiht  to 
indicate  in  the  French  government  designs  ot  unjust  encroachment, 
and  even  direct  hostility  on  the  United  States,  it  is  scarcely  jiossi- 
ble  to  reconcile  a  policy  of  that  sort,  with  any  motives  which  can 
be  presumed  to  sway  eitlter  the  government  <u'  the  nation.  To  say 
nothing  of  the  assurances  giv(!ii,  boti»  by  the  French  minister  at 
Paris,  and  by  the  Spani.sh  minister  at  Madrid,  that  the  cession  by 
Spain  to  France  was  understosid  to  carry  with  it  all  the  conditions 
stipulated  by  the  former  to  the  United  States,  the  nuuiifest  ten- 
dency of  l\ostile  measures  against  the  United  States,  to  ccmnect 
their  councils  and  their  colossal  growth  with  liie  great  and  formi- 
dable rival  of  France,  can  Jieither  escape  her  discernment,  nor  be 


m\ 


ii'» 


iiiiL 


I  lill'Ci 


i'*J. 


ilif: 


m 


J  no 


AIM>KM>IX. 


disregarded  by  her  prudence,  and  niij^ht  alone  be  expected  to  pro- 
duce very  dilVerent  views  in  her  government. 

On  the  supposition  that  the  French  goverinnent  does  not  mean  to 
Jbrce  or  to  court  war  witli  the  United  States;  but,  on  the  contrary, 
lliat  it  sees  tlie  interest  which  France  has  in  cultivating  their  neu- 
tralitv  and  amity,  the  dangers  to  so  desirable  a  relation  between 
the  two  c(H\ntries,  uhich  lurk  under  a  neighbourlioiid,  niodilied  as 
is  that  of  vSpain  at  present,  must  have  great  weight  in  rcconunend- 
ing  the  change  which  you  will  have  to  propose.  These  dangers 
have  been  always  suHiciently  evident;  and  have,  moreover,  been 
repeatedly  suggested  by  collisions  between  tlie  stipulated  rights  or 
reasonable  expectations  of  the  United  Stales  and  the  Spanish  juris- 
diction at  New  Orleans.  l»ut  they  have  been  brought  more  stri- 
kingly into  view  by  the  lute  proceeding;  of  the  intendant  at  that 
place.  The  sensibility  and  unanimity  in  oiir  nation,  wliich  have 
appeared  on  this  occasion,  must  coiivijice  France  that  friendship 
and  peace  with  us  must  be  precarious  until  the  Mississippi  shall 
be  made  the  boundary  between  the  United  States  and  Louisiana: 
and,  conse(|uentlv,  render  the  [)resent  moment  favourable  to  the 
object  with  which  you  are  charged. 

The  time  chosen  for  the  exjicriment,  is  pointc<l  out  also  by  other 
important  considerations.  The  instability  of  the  jieace  of  Europe, 
the  attitude  taken  by  Great  Britain,  the  languishing  state  of  the 
French  finances,  and  the  absolute  necessity  of  either  abandoning 
the  West  India  Islands,  or  of  sending  thither  large  armaments  at 
great  expense,  all  contribute,  at  the  present  crisis,  to  prepare  in 
the  French  government  a  disposition  to  listen  to  an  arrangement 
which  will  at  once  dry  up  one  source  of  foreign  controversy,  and 
furnish  some  aid  iu  struggling  with  internal  enibarrassments.  It 
is  to  be  added,  that  the  overtures  committed  to  you,  coincide  in  a 
great  measure  with  the  ideas  of  the  person  through  whom  the  let- 
ter of  the  president,  of  April  SOth.  180'^,  was  conveyed  to  Mr.  l/i- 
vingston,  and  who  is  jjresumed  to  have  gained  some  insight  into  the 
present  sentiments  of  the  French  cabinet. 

Amon"- the  considerations  which  have  led  the  French  <2;overnment 
into  the  project  of  regaining  from  Spain  the  province  of  Louisiana, 
and  which  you  may  lind  it  necessary  to  meet  in  your  discussions, 
the  following  suggest  themselves  as  highly  probal)le. 

1st,  A  jealousy  of  the  Atlantic  states  as  leaning  (o  a  coalition 
v^ith  Great  Jlrilain,  not  cuiiiistent  with  neutrality  and  amity  to- 


\1'FEM)1.\. 


i:il 


id  to  piu- 

)t  mean  to 
contrary, 
tlieir  ncii- 
II  between 
lodified  as 
cumnicnil- 
>e  dan<;ers 
Dver,  been 
il  riiflits  or 
nisli  juris- 
more  stri- 
nt  at  that 
■liieh  have 
IVieiKUliip 
i^ippi  shall 
Louisiana: 
ble  to  the 

o  by  other 
)!'  Europe, 
aie  of  tlie 
bandoniiiL' 
laments  at 
tropare  in 
ans^cment 
ersy,  anil 
iicnts.     It 
icide  in  a 
u  the  let- 
0  Mr.  Li- 
lt into  the 

ivernment 
iOuisiana. 
scussions, 

coalition 
amity  to- 


wards Krance,  and  a  belief  that,  by  holding;  the  key  to  the  com- 
merce of  the  Mississippi,  she  will  be  able  to  command  the  inte- 
rests ami  attachments  of  the  western  portion  of  the  l.'nited  States; 
and  thereby  either  control  the  Atlantic  portion  also;  or,  if  that  can- 
not be  done,  to  seduce  the  former  into  a  separate  government,  and 
a  close  alliance  with  herself.  In  each  of  these  particulars  the  cal- 
culation is  founded  in  error. 

It  is  not  true  that  the  Atlantic  states  lean  towards  any  connexion 
with  Great  liritain,  inconsistent  with  their  anricable  relations  to 
France.  Their  dispositions  and  their  interests  ecjually  prescribe  to 
them  amity  and  impartiality  to  both  of  those  nations.  If  a  depar- 
ture from  this  simple  and  salut;irv  line  of  policy  should  take  place, 
the  causes  of  it  will  be  found  in  the  unjust  or  unfriendly  coniluct 
experienced  from  one  or  other  of  them.  In  i^enoral  it  may  be  re- 
marked, that  there  are  as  many  points  on  which  the  interests  and 
views  of  the  United  States  and  of  tireat  Britain  may  not  be  thought 
to  coincide,  as  can  be  discovered  in  relation  to  France.  If  less 
harnmny  and  conl\de:ue  should  thereiore  prevail  between  France 
and  the  L^nited  States  than  may  be  maintained  between  Great  Bri- 
tain and  the  United  States,  the  dili'erence  will  lie,  not  in  the  want 
of  motives  drawn  from  the  mutual  advantage  of  the  two  nations; 
but  in  the  want  of  favourable  dis])ositioiis  in  the  governments  of 
one  or  other  of  liiem.  That  the  blame  in  this  rcs])ect  will  not  just- 
ly fall  on  the  government  of  the  L'nited  States,  is  sulliciently  de- 
monstrateil  by  the  mission  and  the  objects  with  which  you  are  now- 
charged. 

The  French  govornnient  is  not  less  mistaken  if  it  supposes  that 
the  western  j)art  of  the  United  States  can  be  witlulrawn  from  their 
present  union  willi  the  Atlantic  part,  into  a  separate  government, 
closely  allied  with  France. 

Our  western  I'ellow-citi/.ens  are  bound  to  the  Union,  not  only  by 
the  ties  of  kindred  and  alVection,  which  for  a  long  time  will  derive 
strength  from  the  stri'an\  of  emi'j;ration  peoi'ling  that  region:  but  by 
two  considerations  which  llow  iVom  clear  and  essential  interests. 

One  of  these  considerations  is,  the  passage  through  the  Atlantic 
ports  of  the  foreign  merchandise  consumed  by  the  western  inhabi- 
tants, and  the  payments  thence  made  to  a  treasury  in  which  they 
would  lose  their  participation  by  erecting  a  separate  go\ernment. 
Tlie  bulky  productions  of  tlie  western  country  may  continue  to 
pass  down  the  Mississippi;  but  the  ditliculties  of  the  ascending  na 
vigatnm  of  that  ri\cr.  however  IVc  it  luav  bi-  tnude.  will  causi>  tM(- 


mult 

4 


ilil  ' 


i 


k 


'Eli' 


i; 


li 


'132 


Al'PKNDIX. 


I 


impoils  for  consumption  io  piiss  tlu()ii<rh  the  Atlantic  states.  Thi> 
is  tilt'  coiiisc  tliioiij^li  wliich  tlioy  aio  now  rccoivoil,  nor  will  the  im- 
post to  wliich  they  will  be  snbjert,  chanj^e  the  course  even  if  the 
])as.sii^c  up  the  Mississippi  should  be  duty  free,  it  will  not  equal 
the  ditterence  in  the  fVei<;;ht  throuiifh  the  latter  channel.  It  is  trui' 
that  medianical  and  other  improvements  in  the  navigation  of  the 
Mississippi  may  lessen  the  labour  and  expense  of  jisccnding  the 
stream:  but  it  is  not  the  least  probable,  that  saviiij^s  of  this  sort 
will  keep  j)ace  with  the  improvements  in  canals  and  roads,  by  which 
the  present  course  of  imports  will  be  favoured.  Let  it  be  added, 
that  the  loss  of  the  contributions  thus  made  to  a  foreign  treasury, 
would  be  accompanied  with  the  necessity  of  juoviding  by  less  con- 
venient revenues  for  the;  expense  of  a  se|)arate  government,  and  oi 
the  defensive  precautions  required  by  the  cluin<5e  of  situation. 

The  other  of  these  considerations  results  from  the  insecurity  to 
which  the  trade  from  the  Mississippi  would  be  exposed  by  sucii  a 
revolution  in  the  western  part  of  the  Ignited  States.  A  connexion 
of  the  western  people  as  a  separate  state  v.  ilh  France,  implies  ri 
connexion  between  tlie  Atlantic  states  and  Great  Britain.  It  is 
found,  from  long  experience,  that  France  and  Great  Britain  are 
nearly  lialf  the  time  at  war.  'I'he  case  would  be  the  same  with 
their  allies  During  nt-arly  one  half  tlie  time,  therefore,  the  trade 
of  (he  westein  country  from  the  Mississip])i,  would  have  no  pro- 
tection but  that  of  France,  and  would  sutler  all  the  interruptions 
which  nations,  having  the  command  of  the  sea,  could  inflict  on  it. 

It  will  be  the  more  impossible  for  France  to  draw  the  western 
country  under  hor  iritluence,  by  conciliatory  regulations  of  the 
trade  through  the  Missi>isip];i;  because  the  regulations  which  would 
be  regaided  by  her  as  liberal,  and  claiming  returns  of  gratitude, 
would  be  viewed  on  the  other  side  as  falling  sliort  of  justice.  If 
this  should  not  be  at  first  the  case,  it  soon  would  be  so.  The  west- 
ern ])eople  believe,  as  do  their  Atlantic  brethren,  that  they  have  a 
natural  and  indefeasible  right  to  traiL  (reely  through  the  Missis- 
sippi. They  arc  conscious  of  their  pov/er  to  enforce  their  right 
against  any  nation  whatf^vcr.  With  these  ideas  in  their  minds,  it 
is  evident  that  France  will  not  be  able  io  excite  either  a  sense  of 
favour,  or  of  fear,  that  would  establish  an  ascendancy  over  them. 
On  the  contrary,  it  is  more  than  probable  that  the  difterent  views 
of  their  resjiective  riglits  would  quickly  lead  to  disap])ointme?its  and 
disgusts  on  both  titles,  and  thence  to  collisions  and  controversies 
\nt:'A  to  the  harmony  of  tlie  t"  o  nations.     To  luard  asainsl  these 


M'I'KN{>I\. 


\:vA 


itcs.  This 
vill  the  im- 
>ven  it"  the 
I  nut  e(|iuil 
It  is  true 
tion  of  the 
indinj;  the 
A  this  sort 
i,  bv  which 
be  added, 
1  treasury. 
ly  less  con 
ent,  and  ol 
lation. 
security  to 
by  such  a 
connexion 
,  imjdies  a 
tain.  It  is 
liritain  arc 
same  with 
,  the  trade 
ve  no  pro- 
terruptions 
flict  on  it. 
16  western 
ons  of  the 
lich  would 
gratitude, 
ustice.  If 
The  west- 
ley  have  a 
the  Missis- 
their  right 
r  minds,  it 
a  sense  of 
)ver  them, 
rent  views 
nients  and 
itroversics 
linsl  thcs*' 


ith  th 


ited 


States  in  wish- 
s  France  has  cciual   reasons  to 


consequences  is  a  primary  uioti 

ing  the  arrangement  proposed. 

guard  against  tliein,  slie  ought  to  feel  an  e(puil  motive  to  concur  in 

the  arrangement. 

2d.  The  advancement  of  the  commerce  of  France,  by  an  esta- 
blishment on  the  Mississippi,  has  doubtless  groat  weight  with  the 
government  in  espousing  this  |)n)ject. 

The  commerce  througii  the  Mi  isis^-ippi  will  consist,  1st,  of  that 
of  the  Tiiitcd  States:  ;2d.  ol  tluit  of  tin;  adjacent  territories  to  be 
acfpiired  by  France. 

rhe  1st  is  now,  and  nuist  for  ages  coiitiuue  the  principal  com- 
merce. As  far  as  the  faculties  of  France  will  enable  her  to  share 
in  it,  the  article  to  be  proposeil  to  her  on  the  jiart  of  the  Tnited 
States  on  that  subject  promises  every  advantage  she  can  desire.  It 
is  a  fair  calculation,  that,  under  the  proposed  arrangement,  her 
commercial  ojjportunities  would  be  extended  rather  than  diminislied; 
inasmuch  as  our  present  right  of  deposite  gives  her  tlie  same  com- 
petitors as  she  would  then  have,  and  the  eiVect  of  tiie  more  rapid 
settlement  of  the  western  country  consecjuent  on  thai,  arrangement 
would  propurtionubly  augment  the  mass  of  commerce  to  be  shared 
by  her. 

The  other  portion  of  commerce,  with  the  exception  of  the  island 
of  New  Orleans,  and  the  contiguous  ports  of  West  Floritia,  de- 
pends on  the  territory  westward  of  the  Mis>issippi.  Witli  respect 
to  this  portion  it  will  be  little  atlected  by  the  ces-ion  desired  by  the 
United  States.  'I'he  footing  proposed  for  !ier  commerce  on  the 
shore  to  be  ceded,  ijives  it  every  advantage  she  could  reasonably 
wish,  during  a  period  within  v.hich  she  will  be  able  to  provide  eve- 
ry requisite  establi>!inient  on  the  riglit  shore:  which,  according  to 
the  best  information,  possesses  the  same  facilities  for  such  establish- 
ments as  are  found  on  the  island  of  New  Orleans  itself.  These  cir- 
cumstances essentially  distinguish  the  situation  of  the  French  com- 
merce in  the  Mississippi  after  a  cession  of  New  Orleaiis  to  tlie  United 
States,  from  the  situation  of  the  commerce  of  the  United  States, 
T,vithout  such  a  cession;  their  right  of  deposite  being  sit  much  more 
circumscribed,  and  tlicir  territory  on  the  Mississippi  not  reaching 
low  enough  for  a  commercial  establishment  on  the  ^^hore  within  their 
present  limits. 

There  remains  to  l)e  couriidered  tiie  comineioo  of  tlie  ports  in  the. 
Floridas.  \Vitli  respect  to  this  branch,  the  advantages  which  will 
be  secured  to  France  bv  the  pioposed  arrangement  ought  to  be  sa- 


iiiiil' 


iiiiilli 


I'i 


:u 


AIM'r.NDIV. 


tisliictorv.  Sl>c  will  here  also  (Iciive  a  greater  share  from  the  in- 
<;re;is(',  which  will  l)e  <;iveii  by  a  more  rapid  settletiieiit  of  a  fertile, 
territory  to  the  exports  ami  imports  throu;i;h  those  ports,  than  she 
would  obtain  from  any  restrictive  use  she  could  make  of  those  j)ort<* 
as  her  own  ])roperty.  IJut  this  is  not  all.  The  l-'nited  JStates  have 
a  just  claim  to  the  use  of  the  rivers  wliich  pass  from  their  territo- 
ries through  the  Kloridas.  They  found  their  claim  on  like  princi- 
ples with  thosi!  which  su[)ported  their  clain»  to  the  use  of  the  Mis 
sissippi.  If  the  length  of  these  rivers  be  not  in  the  same  ])roportion 
with  that  of  the  Mississippi,  the  diflerence  is  balanced  by  the  cir- 
cumstance that,  both  banks  in  the  former  case  belon<5  to  the  United 
States. 

With  a  view  to  ])erinaneiii  harmony  between  tlie  two  nations,  a 
cession  of  the  Floridas  is  particularly  to  be  desired,  as  obviating 
serious  controversies  that  mii^ht  otiierwise  j^rovv  even  out  of  the  re- 
gulations, however  liberal  in  the  opinion  of  France,  which  she  may 
establish  at  th';  moutlis  of  those  rivers.  One  of  the  rivers,  the  Mo- 
bile, is  said  to  be  at  present  navigable  for  four  hundred  miles  above 
the  31^'  of  latitude,  and  the  navi<vation  n)ay  no  doubt  be  opened 
still  farther.  On  all  of  them,  the  country  w  ithin  the  boundary  of  the 
United  States,  though  otherwise  between  that  and  the  sea,  is  fertile. 
Settlements  on  it  are  beginnin,!,^  and  the  people  have  already  called 
on  the  jrovcrnment  to  procure  the  proper  outlets  to  foreign  markets. 
The  president  accordingly  gave,  some  time  ago,  the  proper  instruc- 
tions to  the  minister  of  the  United  States  at  Madrid.  In  tact,  our 
free  communication  with  the  sea  through  these  channels  is  so  natu- 
ral, so  reasonable,  and  so  essential,  that  eventually  it  must  take 
place,  and  in  prudence,  therefore,  ought  to  be  amicably  and  effec  ■ 
tually  adjusted  without  delay. 

od.  A  farther  object  with  France  may  be  to  form  a  colonial  esta- 
blishment, having  a  convenient  relation  to  her  West  India  Islands, 
and  forming  an  independent  source  of  supplies  for  them. 

Tiiis  object  ought  to  weigh  but  little  against  the  cession  we  wish 
to  obtain,  for  two  reasons:  1st,  Because  the  country  which  the  ces- 
sion will  leave  in  her  hands  on  the  riglit  side  of  the  Mississippi,  is 
capable  of  i;m{)loying  more  than  all  the  faculties  she  can  spare  for 
such  an  object,  and  of  yielding  all  the  supplies  which  she  could  ex- 
pect or  wish  from  sue!)  an  establishment.  2d.  Because,  in  times  of 
genera!  peace,  she  will  be  sure  of  receiving  whatever  supplies  her 
islands  may  want  fifun  the  United  States,  and  even  through  the 
Mississippi,  if  mon-  convenient  to  her;  because  in  time  of  peace 


MMi'.MdV. 


\x> 


'  I 


ni  tlie  iii- 
if  11  fertile 
i,  than  slie 
hose  j)orts 
tates  have 
ir  tenito- 
ike  princi- 
f  the  Mis 
proportion 
liy  the  cir- 
he  l.'tiiteil 

nations,  a 
obviatinj^ 
of  the  re- 
h  she  may 
s,  the  Mo' 
liles  above 
be  opened 
lary  of  the 
,  is  fertile, 
ady  called 
1  markets. 
Dr  instruc- 
n  lact,  oui 
is  so  natu  ■ 
must  lake 
and  cffec 

onial  esta- 
ia  Islands, 

n  ve  wish 
ch  the  ces- 
sissippi,  is 
spare  for 
!  could  ex- 
n  times  ol 
pplies  her 
rough  the 
e  of  poac*^ 


with  the  Inited  .States,  thouj^h  of  war  witii  Great  llritaiii,  the  same 
sources  will  bo  open  to  her,  whilst  her  own  would  be  interrupted; 
and  because,  in  rase  of  war  with  the  I'nited  States,  whii  h  is  not 
likely  to  happen  without  a  concurrent  war  with  (ireat  Britain,  (tlic 
only  case  in  whiili  she  could  need  a  distinct  fund  of  su])plies,)  the 
entire  commerce  of  the  sea,  and  of  the  trade  throuj;li  the  Missis- 
sippi, would  be  against  her,  and  would  cut  oft"  the  source  in  ques- 
tion. .She  would  consequently  never  need  the  aid  of  her  new  co- 
lony but  when  slie  could  make  little  or  no  use  of  it. 

There  may  be  other  objects  with  France  in  the  projected  ac(|ui- 
sition.  but  they  are  probably  such  as  would  be  either  satisfied  by  a 
reservation  to  herself  of  the  country  on  the  ri<;ht  side  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi, or  are  of  too  subordinate  a  cl\aractcr  to  prevail  ai^ainst  the 
plan  of  adjustment  we  have  in  view,  in  case  otlicr  dilliculties  in  the 
way  of  it  can  be  overcome.  The  principles  and  outlines  of  this  plan 
are  as  follows,  vi/: 

I.  France  cedes  to  the  Uniled  Slates,  for  ever,  the  territory  cast 
of  the  river  Mis>issipj»i;  compreliendinjf  the  two  Florida-;,  the  island 
of  New  Orleans,  and  the  islands  lyinj;;  to  the  north  and  east  of  that 
channel  of  the  saitl  river  which  is  commonly  called  the  South  Pass, 
together  with  all  such  other  islands  as  appertain  to  cither  West  or 
East  Florida:  France  reservinii;  to  herself  all  her  territory  on  the 
west  side  of  the  Mississippi. 

II.  The  boundary  between  the  territory  ceded  and  reserved  by 
France,  shall  be  a  continuation  of  that  already  defined  above  the 
list  degree  of  north  latitude,  namely,  the  middle  of  the  cha!)nel 
or  bed  of  the  river,  tiirou";h  the  said  South  Pass  to  the  sea.  The 
navigation  of  the  river  Mississippi,  in  ifs  whole  breadth  from  its 
source  to  the  ocean,  and  in  all  its  passages  to  and  from  the  sainc, 
shall  be  equally  free  and  common  to  citizens  of  the  United  States 
and  of  the  French  republic. 

III.  The  vessels  and  citizens  of  the  French  republic  may  exer- 
cise commerce  to  and  at  such  places  on  their  respective  shores  be- 
low the  said  thirty-first  degree  of  north  latitude  as  may  be  allowed 
for  that  use  by  the  parties  to  their  respective  citizens  and  vessels. 
And  it  is  agreed  that  no  other  nation  shall  be  allowed  to  exercise 
commerce  to  or  at  the  same  nr  any  other  place  on  either  shore,  be- 
low the  said  thirty-first  degree  of  latitude,  for  the  term  of  ten  years, 


h 
■ii ' 


; 


III. 


1 3b 


\1'1'i;m>i.\. 


to  be  computed  from  the  excli!m<:;('  oltlio  ratitlcatidns  lieroo',  'i'hc 
citi/.rns,  vessels,  and  nu'ii  liaiiile^es  of  llit-  I'liifcd  States  and  ol 
Fiaiire,  sliull  be  subjec  t  to  no  (ttlicr  duties  tm  tlieir  re.tpeclive  shoren 
beh)\v  the  sail!  tbirtv-fiist  «le<>;ic'e  of  latitude  than  are  imposed  on 
their  own  liti/.eiis,  vessels,  and  nu'irhandisos.  No  iluty  whatever 
shall,  after  the  eN|)ii'ation  of  ten  jrars,  be  laid  on  articles  the 
j^rowtli  or  niaiiulai  ture  oi'  the  I'liitrd  Slatt^,  or  of  the  ceded  terri 
tories,  exported  tliroiij^h  the  Mississippi  in  Krenrh  vessels;  so  lonj; 
as  such  articles  so  exported  in  vessels  of  the  Tnited  States  shall 
be  exempt  from  duty:  nor  shall  French  vessels,  exporting;  such  ar- 
ticles, ever  afterwards  be  subjec',  to  pay  a  hiu;her  duty  than  vessels 
of  the  United  .States. 

IV.  'i'he  citizens  of  France  n^ay,  for  the  term  of  ten  years,  dc- 
])0site  their  ellects  at  New  Orleans,  and  at  such  other  places  on  the 
ceded  shore  of  the  Mississippi  as  are  allowed  for  thi^  connnerce  ol 
the  I'nited  States,  without  ])ayin>^  any  other  duty  than  a  fair  price 
for  the  hire  of  stores. 

V.  Ilk  the  ports  and  commerce  of  West  and  Kast  Florida,  France 
shall  never  be  on  a  worse  footinj^  tlian  the  most  favoured  nation;  and 
for  thi*  trriu  of  ten  years  her  vessels  and  merchandise  shall  be  sub 
ject  therein  to  no  hii^her  duties  than  art'  paid  by  tliose  of  the  (Jnited 
States.  Articles  of  the  j^rowth  and  manufacture  of  the  United 
Wtates,  and  of  the  ceded  territory,  exported  in  French  vessels  from 
any  port  in  West  or  F.ast  Fhuida.  shall  be  exempt  from  duty  as 
Ion}5  as  vessels  of  the  United  States  shall  enjoy  this  exemption. 


■  VI.  The  United  States,  in  consideration  of  the  cession  of  terri- 
tory made  by  this  treaty,  shall  pay  to  France millions  of 

livres  tournois,  in  the  manner  followinjr;  namely.  They  shall  pay 

millions  ol"  livres  tournois  immediately  on  the  exchanii;e  of 

the  ratifications  hereof;  they  shall  assume,  in  such  order  of  priori- 
ty as  the  government  of  the  United  States  may  approve,  the  ])ay- 
ment  of  claitus  which  have  been,  or  may  be,  acknowledj!;ed  by  the 
French  republic  to  be  due  to  American  citizens,  or  so  much  there- 
of as,  with  tlie  payment  to  be  made  on  the  exchange  of  ratifications, 

w'ill  not  exceed  the  sum  of :  and,  in  case  a  balance  should 

re.uain  due,  after  such  payment  and  assumption,  the  same  shall  be 
paid  at  the  end  of  one  year  from  the  final  li<|uidation  of  the  claims 
hereby  assumed,  which  shall  be  payable  in  three  equal  annual  pa^ 


Mi'l.NDl.S. 


137 


•'->  and  ol 
five  sliorc.j 
iijfOBcd  on 

wliatovor 
rticlos  the 

(led  lorri 

<;  S(»  loii;^ 
(at«'s  sliall 
;;  such  ai- 
ail  vessels 


years,  de- 
iCL's  on  tlif; 
ninu'tce  ol 
L  lair  price 


ila,  France, 
atioii;  and 
ail  he  sub 
tlie  fJnited 
lie  United 
ssels  froni 
n  duty  as 
nption. 

II  of  terri 
iiillions  ol 

sliall  pay 
:elianu;e  of 

of  priori- 
,  the  pay 
ed  by  the 
ich  there 
ifications, 
ce  should 
e  sliall  be 
he  claims 
niial  pa  A 


menis — the  lirsi.  of  \vi\icli  is  to  take  plate  one  year  after  <lie  ex- 
(lianije  of  ratilirations.  or  they  i^liall  bear  intere>t  at  (he  rale  of  six 
per  cent,  pi-i  annum,  from  the  date  of  Mich  intend"d  payments, 
nntil  they  shall  i)e  dischary;ed.  All  (he  a!)ove-mentioned  payments 
shall  be  made  at  tlie  (reasury  of  the  Tnited  Sta(es,  and  at  the  rate 
of  one  dollar  and  ten  cents  for  every  six  livres  tournois. 

Vll.  To  incorporate  the  inhabitants  of  the  hereby  ceded  (eirito- 
ty  with  the  citizens  of  the  United  States,  on  an  ecjual  foutin;^,  bc- 
injt;  a  jirovision  which  cantiot  now  be  made,  it  is  to  be  expected, 
from  the  character  and  policy  of  (lu;  United  States,  that  such  in- 
corjioratimi  will  lake  place  witlioiit  nnnecosar}  delay.  In  the 
mean  time  they  shall  lie  secure  in  their  jjersrons  and  ])roperty,  and 
in  the  free  enjoyment  of  their  relij|;ion. 

Ohtio-iUtions  Oil  f/ir  I'hni. 

1st.  As  (lie  cession  to  be  made  by  Krance,  in  tiiis  case,  must  rest 
on  (he  cession  made  to  her  by  Spain,  it  mij^ht  be  proper  that  Spaiti 
sliould  be  a  party  to  tlie  transaction.  The  objections,  however,  to 
delay,  retjuire  that  nolhinu;  more  be  asked,  on  our  part,  than  either 
an  exhibition  and  recital  of  the  treaty  between  Krance  and  Spain, 
or  an  enf;;ai;ement,  on  the  ])art  of  Krance,  lliat  the  accession  of 
8|)ain  will  be  <i;iven.  Nor  will  it  be  advisable  to  insist,  even  on  this 
much,  if  attended  with  difficulty  or  delay,  unless  there  be  ground 
to  suppose  that  Spain  will  contest  the  validity  of  the  transaction. 

^2d.  The  plan  takes  for  y;ranted,  als(»,  tliat  the  treaty  of  171)5,  be- 
tween the  I'nited  States  and  Spain,  is  to  lose  none  of  its  I'orce,  in 
belialf  of  the  former,  by  any  transactions  whatever  between  the 
latter  and  Krance.  Noxhange,  it  is  evident,  will  be,  or  can  be, 
admitted  to  be  produced  in  that  treaty,  or  in  the  arrangements  car- 
ried into  elVett  under  it,  fartlier  tiian  it  may  be  superseded  by  sti- 
y)ulations  between  the  United  States  and  Krance,  who  will  stand  in 
the  place  of  Spain.  It  will  not  be  aniis.s  to  insist  on  ati  express  re- 
coj^nition  of  this  by  Krance,  as  an  etVectual  bar  against  pretexts,  of 
any  sort,  not  compatible  with  the  stii)ulations  with  Spain. 

od.  The  first  of  the  articles  proposed  in  defining  tiie  cession,  re- 
fers to  the  .South  J'ass  of  the  Mississippi,  and  to  the  islands  north 
and  east  of  that  channel.  As  this  is  the  most  navigable  of  the  se- 
veral channels,  as  well  as  the  most  direct  course  to  the  sea,  it  i.^ 
expected  that  it  will  not  be  objected  to-    It  is  of  tlie  greater  impor 


.I'l; 


!!' 


'■'X 

m 


'III.. 


ISii 


Avrr.NDix. 


tance  to  uiake  it  tlio  boundary,  because  sovoral  islaiuls  will  bo  tluMv- 
by  acciuirod — one  of  wiiiclj  is  said  to  totnmaiul  tliis  channel,  and 
to  be  already  lortilied.  The  article  expressly  inrludes,  also,  the 
islands  a])|)ertainins  to  tlie  Floridas.  'iO  tliis  there  can  be  no  ob- 
jection. The  islands  within  six  leagues  of  the  shore  are  the  sub- 
ject of  a  Brilish  ])roclaination  in  (he  year  ir(')3,  sul)se(|uent  to  the 
cession  of  the  Floridas  to  (Jrenl  liiitaiu  by  France,  which  is  not 
known  to  have  been  ever  called  in  question  by  either  France  or 
Spain. 

The  second  article  requires  no  particular  observations. 

Article  tliird  is  one  wliose  import  may  be  expected  to  undrrg;** 
the  severest  scrutiny.  The  niodiliration  to  be  desired  is  that  whicli, 
whilst  it  provides  for  the  interest  of  the  United  States,  will  be  ac- 
ceptable to  France,  and  will  give  no  just  ground  of  complaint,  and 
the  least  of  discontent  to  Great  Britain. 

The  present  form  of  the  article  ought,  and  probably  will,  be  sa- 
tisfactory to  France:  First,  because  it  secun>s  to  her  all  the  com- 
mercial advantages  in  tlie  river  vhich  she  can  well  desire:  Second- 
ly, because  it  leaves  her  free  to  contest  the  mere  navigation  of  the 
river,  by  Great  Britain,  without  the  consent  of  France. 

The  article,  also,  in  its  present  form,  vicdates  no  right  of  Great 
Britain,  nor  can  she  reasonably  expect  of  the  I'nited  States  thai: 
they  will  contend,  beyond  their  obligation,  for  her  interest,  at  the. 
expense  of  their  own.  As  far  as  Great  Britain  can  claim  the  use 
of  the  river,  under  her  treaties  witli  us,  or  by  virtue  of  contiguous 
territory,  the  silence  of  the  article,  on  that  subject,  leaves  the  clain\ 
unaffected.  As  far,  again,  as  she  is  entitled,  under  the  treaty  oi 
1794,  to  the  use  of  our  hank  of  the  Mississippi,  al)nve  the  31st  de- 
gree of  north  latitude,  her  title  will  be  equally  entire.  The  arti- 
cle stipulates  against  her  only  in  its  exclusion  of  her  commerce 
from  the  bank,  to  be  ceded,  below  our  present  limits.  To  this  she 
cannot,  of  right,  object — 1st,  because  the  territory,  not  belonging 
to  the  United  States  at  the  date  of  our  treaty  with  her,  is  jiot  in- 
cluded in  its  stipulations;  '2dly,  because  the  privileges  to  be  en 
joyed  by  France  arc  for  a  consideration  which  Great  Britain  has 
not  given,  and  cannot  give;  .Idly,  because  the  conclusion,  in  this 
case,  being  a  condition  on  which  tlie  territory  will  be  ceded  and  ac 
cepted,  tlie  rigltt  to  coniuiunicate  the  privilege  to  Great  Britain  will 
never  have  been  vested  in  the  United  States. 

But,  although  these  reasons  fully  justify  the  article,  in  its  rela- 
tion to  Great  Britain,  it  will  be  advisable,  before  it  be  proposed,  to 


I 


.\PPKNDIX. 


439 


ill  be  thcriv 
liaiinol,  and 
?s,  also,  tiie 
in  be  no  ob- 
re  the  sub- 
iieiit  to  the 
hich  is  not 
Franca  or 


to  undrro;^ 

that  which, 

will  be  ac- 

iplaint,  ami 

ivilj,  be  sa- 
il the  coni- 
e:  8ecoii(i- 
tion  of  the 

it  of  Great 
States  that 
rest,  at  the. 
nn  the  use 
conti<:;uoii,s 
s  the  claim 
c  treaty  oi 
le  .3 1st  (le- 
The  arti- 
commerce 
Po  this  she 
belonging 
is  not  in- 
to be  en 
Britain  has 
on,  in  this 
2(1  and  ac 
ritain  will 

1  its  rela- 
0 posed,  tn 


i 


feel  the  pulse  of  tlic  French  jfoverninent  with  respect  to  a  stipula- 
tion, that  eacli  of  tlie  parlies  may,  witlidut  the  consent  of  the  other, 
admit  whomsoever  it  pleases  to  navigate  the  river,  and  trade  with 
their  respective  shores,  on  the  same  terms  as  in  the  other  ports  of 
France  and  the  United  States,  and  as  far  as  the  disposition  of  that 
government  will  concur  to  vary  the  proposition  accordingly.  It  is 
not  probable  that  this  concurrence  will  be  given;  but  the  trial  to 
obtain  it  will  not  onl}  manifest  a  friendly  regard  to  the  wishes  of 
Great  Britain,  and,  if  successful,  fuinish  a  future  price  for  privi- 
leges within  her  grant,  but  is  a  just  attention  to  the  interests  of  our 
western  fellow-citizens,  whose  commerce  \iill  not  otherwise  be  on 
an  equal  footing  with  tliat  of  the  Atlantic  states. 

Sliould  France  not  only  ref^u^e  any  such  ch;iiige  in  the  article,  but 
insist  on  a  lecognition  of  the  right  t(»  exclude  all  nations,  other  than 
the  United  States,  from  navigating  the  Mississippi,  it  may  be  ob- 
served to  her,  that  a  positive  stipulation  to  tliat  etfect  might  subject 
us  to  the  charge  of  intermeddling  with,  and  prejudging,  questions 
existing  merely  between  her  and  Great  Britain;  that  the  silence  of 
the  article  is  sulllcient?  that,  as  Great  Britain  never  asserted  a 
claim  on  this  subject  against  Spain,  it  is  not  to  be  presumed  that 
she  will  assert  it  against  France  on  her  taking  the  place  of  Spain; 
that,  if  the  claim  should  be  asserted,  the  treaties  between  the  United 
States  and  Great  Britain  will  have  no  connexion  with  it,  the  United 
Stales  having,  in  these  treaties,  given  their  separate  con^^ent  only 
to  the  use  of  the  river  by  Great  Britain,  leaving  her  to  seek  what- 
ever other  consent  may  be  necessary. 

If,  notwithstanding  such  expostulations  as  these,  France  shall  in- 
flexibly insist  on  an  express  recognition  to  !ie  above  etfect,  it  will 
be  better  to  acquiesce  in  it,  than  to  lose  the  opportunity  of  fixing 
an  arrangement,  in  i)ther  respects  satisfactory;  taking  care  to  put 
the  recognition  into  u  form  not  inconsistciit  with  our  treaties  with 
Great  Britain,  or  with  an  explanatory  article  that  may  not,  impro- 
bably, be  desired  by  her. 

In  truth,  it  must  be  adniitted  that  France,  as  holding  one  bank, 
may  exclude  from  the  use  of  the  ri\er  anv  luition  not  more  connect- 
ed with  it,  by  treaty,  tlhiu  Great  i'rilain  i-  understood  to  be.  As 
a  river,  where  both  its  bank>  are  osvned  by  one  nation,  belongs  ex- 
clusively to  that  nation,  it  is  clear  that,  when  the  territory,  on  one 
side,  is  owned  by  (uie  nation,  and  on  the  other  side  by  another  na- 
tion, the  rivei  belongs  e(|ually  to  both,  in  exclusion  of  all  others. 
I'here  ?.ie  two  modes  by  wiiich  an  equal  right  may  be  exercised; 


I 


iiti 


i 


no 


APPRNDIX. 


the  one,  by  a  iicj^ative  in  each  on  tlie  use  ot  the  rivor  hy  any  other 
nation,  except  the  joint  piopiiclor;  tlie  other,  by  aUowin;;  each  to 
grant  the  use  of  the  river  to  otiier  nations  without  tlie  consent  of 
the  joint  proprietor.  The  latter  mode  would  be  preferable  to  the 
United  States:  but,  if  it  be  found  absolutely  inadmissible  to  France, 
the  former  must,  in  point  of  expediency,  since  it  may  in  point  of 
right,  be  admitted  by  the  United  .States,  (jreat  Britain  will  have 
the  less  reason  to  be  dissatisfied  on  this  account,  as  she  has  never 
asserted,  aj^ainst  Spain,  a  right  of  entering  and  navigating  the  Mis- 
sissippi: nor  has  she,  or  the  United  States,  ever  founded,  on  the 
treaties  between  them,  a  claim  to  the  interposition  of  the  other 
party,  in  any  respect,  altiiough  the  river  has  been  constantly  sliut 
against  Great  Britain,  from  the  year  1783  to  the  present  moment, 
and  was  not  opened  to  the  United  States  until  1705,  the  year  of 
their  treaty  with  Spain. 

It  is  possible,  also,  that  France  may  refuse  to  the  T'nited  States 
the  same  commercial  use  of  her  shores,  as  she  will  retpiire  for  her- 
self on  those  ceded  to  the  United  States.  In  this  case  it  will  be 
better  to  relintjuish  a  reciprocity  than  to  frustrate  the  negotiation. 
If  the  United  States  held,  in  their  own  right,  the  sliore  to  be  ceded 
to  them,  the  conunercial  use  of  it  allowed  to  France  would  render 
a  reciprocal  use  of  her  shore,  by  tlie  United  States,  an  indispensa- 
ble condition.  But  as  France  niay,  if  she  chooses,  reserve  to  her- 
self the  commercial  use  of  the  ceded  shore,  as  a  condition  of  tin 
cession,  the  claim  of  the  United  States,  to  the  like  use  of  her  shore, 
would  not  be  supported  by  the  principle  of  reciprocity,  aufl  ma>< 
therefore,  without  violating  that  jjrinciple,  be  waved  in  the  traii>' 
action. 

The  article  limits  to  ten  years  the  equality  of  Frencii  citizens- 
vessels,  and  merchandises,  with  those  of  the  United  States.  Should 
a  longer  period  be  insisted  on,  it  may  be  yielded.  The  limitation 
may  even  be  struck  out,  if  made  essential  by  France:  but  a  limita- 
tion, in  this  case,  is  so  desirable,  that  it  is  to  be  particidarly  pressed,, 
and  the  shorter  the  period  the  better. 

Art.  -4.  The  right  of  doposite,  provided  for  in  this  article,  will 
accommodate  the  commerce  of  France,  to  and  from  her  own  side 
c*^  the  rivor,  until  an  emporium  shall  be  established  on  that  siile: 
'.vhich  it  is  well  known  will  admit  of  a  convenient  one.  Tlu^  right 
is  li'nited  to  ten  years,  because  such  an  estal)lishment  may,  within 
that  period,  be  formed  by  her.  Should  a  longer  period  be  required. 
ft  may  be  allowed;  esperiallv.  as  the  U'^o  of  such  a  doposite.  wouhi 


i 


\I'I>RM>1X. 


Ill 


any  otiier 
^  each  f(i 
lonsent  of 
iblc  to  the 
to  Franco 
a  point  ot 
uill  have 
has  never 
i;  the  Mis- 
ed,  on  tlif 
the  other 
aiitly  sliul 
t  moineiit. 
lie  year  ol 

ted  States 
re  for  her- 
it  will  bo 
}gotiation. 
)  be  ceded 
dd  render 
idispens;)- 
ve  to  her- 
ion  of  thi^ 
her  shore, 
and  may. 
the  tran!>- 

i  citi'/.ens, 

Should 

imitation 

t  a  liuiita- 

y  pressed. 

tide,  will 
own  side 
that  side: 
Till'  riijht 
ly,  within 
reqiiiretl. 
(c.  woidn 


probably  fall  within  the  general  regulations  of  our  commerce  there. 
At  the  same  time,  as  it  will  be  better  that  it  should  rest  on  our  own 
regulations,  than  on  a  stipulation,  it  will  be  |)roper  to  insert  a  limi- 
tation v.i'  time,  if  France  can  be  induced  to  acquiesce  in  it. 

Art.  5.  This  article  makes  a  reasonable  provision  for  the  com- 
merce of  France,  in  the  ports  of  West  and  East  Florida.  If  the 
limitation  to  ten  years,  of  its  being  on  the  same  footing  with  that 
of  the  United  States,  should  form  an  insuperable  objection,  the 
term  may  be  enlarged;  but  it  is  much  to  bo  wished  that  the  privi- 
lege may  not,  in  tiiis  case,  be  made  perpetual. 

Art.. 6.  The  pecuniary  consideration  to  be  oftered  for  the  terri- 
tories in  (|uestion,  is  stated  in  article  G.  You  will,  of  course,  fa- 
vour the  United  States  as  much  as  possible,  both  in  the  amount,  and 
the  modiiications  of  the  j)aymenfs.  There  is  some  reason  to  be- 
lieve that  the  gross  sum  ex|)resse(l  in  the  article  has  occurred  to  the 
French  government,  and  is  as  much  as  will  be  finally  insisted  on. 
It  is  possible  that  less  may  be  accepted,  and  the  negotiation  ought 
to  be  adapted  te  that  supposition.  Should  a  greater  sum  be  made 
an  ultimatum,  on  the  part  of  France,  the  president  has  made  up  his 
mind  to  go  as  far  as  fifty  millions  of  livres  tournois,  rather  than 
lose  the  main  object.  Kvery  struggle,  however,  is  to  be  made 
against  such  an  augmentation  of  the  price,  that  will  consist  wi*.!i  an 
ultimate  actpiiescence  in  it. 

The  payment  to  be  made  immediately  on  the  exchange  ot  ratifi- 
cation, is  left  blank;  because  it  cannot  be  foreseen  eitlier  what  the 
gross  sum  or  the  assumed  debts  will  be,  or  how  far  a  reduction  of 
the  gross  sum  may  be  inlluenced  by  the  anticipated  payments,  pro- 
vided for  by  tlie  act  of  congress,  herewith  communicated,  and  by 
the  autliori'/.ation  of  the  president  and  secretary  of  the  treasury, 
endorsed  tliereon.  This  provision  has  been  made  with  a  view  to 
enable  you  to  take  advantage  of  the  urgtMicy  of  the  French  govern- 
ment, for  money,  which  may  be  such  as  to  overcome  the  repugnance 
to  part  with  what  we  want,  and  iiuluce  tliem  to  part  with  it  on  lower 
terms,  in  case  a  payment  can  be  made  before  the  exchange  of  rati- 
fications. The  letter  from  the  secretary  of  the  trea-ury  to  the  se- 
cretary of  state,  of  which  a  copy  is  herewith  enclosed,  will  explain 
the  manner  in  which  this  advance  of  the  ten  millions  of  livres,  or  so 
much  thercLf  as  may  be  necessary,  will  be  raised  most  convenient- 
ly for  the  Un  ted  States.  It  only  remains  here  to  point  out  the 
condition  or  « vent  on  which  the  advance  may  be  made.  It  will  be 
t'ssential  that  the  touveutioii  be  ratified  by  the  French  government. 

•'if; 


1' 


112 


\i'i  r.NuiX. 


heloic  any  sucli  advance  bo  made;  and  il  may  be  (iirllier  required, 
ill  addition  to  the  stipulation  to  transfer  possession  of  the  ceded  tei- 
litoiy  as  soon  as  possible,  lliat  the  orders  for  the  purpose,  from  the 
rompetcnt  souice,  be  actually  and  innnediately  put  into  your 
haiKis.  It  will  be  proper  also  to  provide  for  the  repayment  of  the 
<idvanco,  in  the  e\ent  of  a  rolti>;al  of  the  United  .States  to  ratify 
the  (Mmvention. 

It  is  approiiended  that  tiie  French  !j;overnnient  will  feel  no  repute- 
nance  to  our  desi^natinf;;  tlie  classes  of  claims  and  debts,  which, 
embracing  more  equitable  considerations  than  the  rest,  we  may  be- 
lieve entitled  to  a  priority  of  payment.  It  is  probable,  therefore, 
that  the  clause  of  the  Gtii  article,  referrinij;  it  to  our  discretion,  may 
be  safely  insisted  upon.  We  thiidc  the  following  classiiication  such 
as  ought  to  be  atlopted  by  ourselves: — 

1st,  Claims  under  the  -1th  article  of  the  convention  of  Septem- 
ber, 1800. 

;2d.  Forced  conti'acts,  or  sales  imposed  upon  our  ciliz.cns  by 
French  authorities;  and. 

3d.  A'oluntary  contracts,  which  have  been  sull'ercd  to  remain  un- 
fulfilled by  tliem. 

Where  our  citizens  have  become  creditors  of  the  French  govern- 
ment, in  consequence  of  agencies  or  appointments  derived  from  it, 
the  United  States  are  under  no  particular  obligations  to  patroni/.o 
their  claims,  and  therefore  no  sacrifice  of  any  sort,  in  their  beliall. 
ought  to  be  made  in  the  arrangement.  As  far  as  this  class  of  claim- 
ants can  be  embraced,  without  embarrassing  the  negotiation,  or  in- 
fluencing, in  any  respect,  the  demands  or  expectations  of  the  French 
government,  it  will  not  be  improper  to  adniit  them  into  the  provi 
sion.  It  is  not  probable,  however,  that  such  a  deduction  from  the 
sum  ultimately  to  be  received  by  the  French  government,  will  be 
permitted  without  some  equivalent  accommodation  to  its  interests, 
at  the  exp'Mise  of  the  United  .States. 

The  ciaiiiis  of  M.  Beaumarchais,  and  several  other  French  indi- 
viduals, on  oui-  goverinnent,  foundcil  upon  antiquated  or  irrelevant 
grounds,  allho'igh  they  may  be  attenq)ted  to  be  included  in  this  ne- 
gotiation, have  no  connexion  with  it.  The  American  government 
is  distinguished  for  its  just  regard  to  the  rights  of  foreigners,  and 
docs  not  recjuire  those  of  individuals  to  become  subjects  of  treaty, 
in  order  to  be  admitted.  Besides,  their  discussion  involves  a  va- 
riety of  minute  topics,  with  which  you  may  fairly  declare  your- 
selves to  be  unacquainted.     Should  it  appear,   however,   iu  the 


M'ri'.NDlX. 


ii:i 


•  required, 
ceded  tei- 
?,  from  the 
into  your 
lent  of  tlio 
IS  to  ratify 

1  no  repuj;;- 
)ts,  vhicli, 
vc  may  be- 
therefore, 
etioii,  may 
;atiou  sucli 

)f  Septcni- 

iti/.cns  by 

remain  un- 

cl>  2;oven\- 
ed  from  i(, 

patroni/.i^. 
eir  beliaU. 
s  of  claim- 
ion,  or  iu- 
flie  French 
the  provi- 
I  from  thi". 
it,  will  bo 

interests. 

ench  indi- 
irrelevanl 
in  this  ne- 
overumeni 
i^ners,  and 
of  treaty, 
Ives  a  va- 
:lare  your- 
LM-.   iu  the 


course  of  the  nej^otiation,  tlial  so  much  sirens  is  laid  on  this  point, 
that  without  some  accommodation,  your  success  uill  be  eiulangored; 
it  will  l)c  allo\val)le  to  hind  llic  United  Stales  for  the  payment  of 
one  million  of  livros  lournois,  to  the  representatives  of  Bcumar- 
chais,  heretofore  deducted  from  his  account  a<!;ainst  them;  tlie  P'rencli 
government  declarinj;;  the  same  never  to  have  been  advanced  to  him 
on  account  of  the  United  States. 

Article  nh  is  su<>;Q;ested  by  the  respect  due  to  the  rij:;hts  of  the 
people  iidiabitinji-  the  ceded  territory,  and  by  tin;  delay  which  may 
be  found  in  constituting  tliom  a  regular  and  integn^l  portion  of  tlio 
Union.  A  full  respect  for  their  rights  might  require  their  conseni; 
to  the  act  of  cession,;  and  if  the  French  government  filiould  be  dis- 
posed to  cimcur  in  any  proper  mode  of  obtaining  it,  the  provision 
would  be  honourable  to  botli  nations.  There  is  no  doubt  that  the 
inhabitants  would  readily  agree  to  the  proposed  transfer  of  their 
allegiance. 

It  is  hoped  that  the  idea  of  a  guarantee  of  the  country  reserved 
to  France,  may  not  be  brought  into  the  negotiation.  Should  France, 
propose  such  a  stipulation,  it  will  be  expedient  to  evade  it,  if  possi- 
ble, as  more  likely  to  be  a  source  of  disagreeable  fiuestions  between 
the  parties  concerning  the  actual  casus  foederis  than  of  real  ad- 
vantage to  France.  It  is  not  in  the  least  probable  that  Louisiana, 
in  the  hands  of  that  nation,  will  be  attacked  by  any  other,  whilst 
it  is  in  the  relations  to  the  United  States,  on  which  tiio  guarantee 
would  be  founded;  whereas  nothing  is  more  probable  than  some 
dift'erence  of  opinion  as  to  the  circumstances  and  the  degree  of 
danger  necessary  to  put  the  stipulations  in  force.  There  will  be 
less  reason  in  the  demand  of  such  an  article,  as  the  United  States 
would  set  little  value  on  a  guarantee  of  any  part  of  tlieir  territory, 
and,  consequently,  there  would  be  no  just  reciprocity  in  it.  Should 
France,  notwithstanding  these  considerations,  make  a  guarantee  an 
essential  point,  it  will  be  better  to  accede  to  it  than  to  abandon  the 
object  of  the  negotiation;  mitigating  the  evil  as  nuuli  as  possible, 
by  requiring  for  the  casus  ffcderis  a  great  and  manilest  danger 
threatened  to  the  territory  guarantied,  and  by  substituting  for  an 
indefinite  succour,  or  even  a  definite  succour,  in  military  f./rce,  a 
fixed  sum  of  money  payable  at  the  treasury  ol'  the  T'nited  Sir.'^es. 
It  is  difl^icult  to  name  the  proper  sum,  which  is  iu  no  posture  of  the 
business  to  be  exceeded,  but  it  can  scarcely  be  presumed  that  more 

than  about dollars,  to  be  paid  annuailv,  during  the  existence 

of  the  danger,  will  be  insisted  oiu 


\l. 


ill 


A1'M:.%D1\. 


Shnulil  it  be  iiiiavoidiihle  to  stipulate  troops  in  placo  of  money,  \i 
vill  be  prudent  to  settle  the  details  \vith  as  much  |)recisioii  as  pos- 
sible, that  there  be  no  room  for  controversy,  either  with  France  or 
with  iier  enemy,  on  the  fullilment  of  the  stipulation. 

The  Instructions  thus  far  j^iven,  suppose  that  France  may  be  will- 
inj;;  to  cede  to  the  I'nited  States  the  whole  of  the  island  of  New- 
Orleans,  and  both  the  Floridas.  As  she  may  be  inclined  to  dispose 
of  a  part  or  parts,  and  of  sucli  only,  it  is  proper  for  you  to  know- 
that  the  Floridas,  toj^ether,  are  estimated  at  one-fourth  tlie  value 
of  the  whole  island  of  New  Orleans,  and  Fast  Florida  at  half  thai 
of  AN'est  Florida.  In  case  of  a  partial  cession,  it  is  expected  that 
the  regulations  of  every  other  kind,  so  far  as  they  are  onerous  to 
the  I'nited  States,  will  be  mure  favourably  modified. 

Should  France  refuse  to  cede  the  whole  of  the  island,  as  large  a 
portion  as  she  can  be  prevailed  on  to  part  with  may  be  accepted.-, 
should  no  considerable  portion  of  it  be  attainable,  it  will  still  be  of 
vast  importance  to  ;ji;et  a  jurisdiction  over  space  enough  for  a  large 
commercial  town  and  its  ap|)urtenances,  on  the  bank  of  the  river, 
and  as  little  remote  from  tlie  mouth  of  the  river  as  may  be.  A  right 
to  choose  the  place  would  be  better  than  a  designation  of  it  in  t\\u 
treaty.  Should  it  be  impossible  to  procure  a  complete  jurisdiction 
over  any  convenient  spot  whatever,  it  will  only  remain  to  explain 
and  improve  the  present  riglit  of  deposite,  by  adding  thereto  the 
express  privilege  of  holding  real  est;i»e  for  commercial  purposes,  of 
providing  hospitals,  of  having  consuls  residing  there,  and  other 
agents,  who  may  be  authori/A'd  to  authenticate  and  deliver  all  do- 
cuments re(|uisite  for  vessels,  belonging  to  and  engaged  in  the 
trade  of  the  United  States,  to  anil  from  the  place  of  deposite.  TIk 
United  States  cannot  remain  satisfied,  nor  the  western  people  bt^ 
kept  patient  under  the  restrictions  which  the  existing  treaty  with 
Spain  authorizes. 

Sh(«uld  a  cession  of  the  Floridas  not  be  attainable,  your  attention 
will  also  be  due  to  the  establishment  of  suitable  deposites  at  the 
mouths  of  the  rivers,  passing  from  tiie  United  States  through  the 
Floridas,  as  well  as  of  the  free  navigation  of  those  rivers  by  citi- 
zens of  the  United  States.  What  has  been  above  suggested  in  re- 
lation to  the  Alississipj)i,  and  tlie  de|)osite  on  its  banks,  is  applica- 
ble to  the  other  rivers;  and  additional  hints  relative  (o  them  all  may 
be  derived  fro'.rs  die  letter,  of  which  a  copy  is  enclosed  from  the 
consul  at  New  Orleans. 

It  has  been  long  manifest,  that,  whilst  the  injuries  to  the  United 


\iM'F.\J>i\. 


44.0 


t  lunney,  ii 
ion  as  pos 
France  oi 


ay  be  will- 
id  of  New 

to  dispose 
[I  to  know 

the  value 
t  half  that 
iccted  that 
onerous  to 

as  large  u 

'  accepted: 

still  be  of 

for  a  large 

the  rivei-. 

c.    A  right 

)f  it  in  tli(; 

urisdictioij 

to  explain 

hereto  the 

iirposes,  of 

and  other 

er  all  do- 

ed  in  the 

ite.     The 

people  be 

eaty  witii 


rotates,  so  frequently  occurring  from  the  colonial  otticers,  scattered 
over  our  hemisphere,  and  in  our  nei<:hl)ouriiood,  can  c)nly  be  repaired 
by  a  resort  to  their  respective  governments  in  Europe,  that  it  will 
be  impossible  to  guard  against  the  most  serious  inconveniences. 
The  late  events  at  New  Orleans  strongly  manifest  the  necessity  of 
placing  a  power  somewhere  nearer  to  us,  capable  of  correcting  and 
controlling  the  mischievous  proceedings  of  such  olficcrs  towards  our 
citizens,  without  whicli  a  few  individuals,  not  always  among  the 
wisest  or  best  of  men,  may  at  any  time  threaten  the  good  under- 
standing of  the  two  nations.  The  distance  between  the  United 
States  and  the  old  continent,  and  the  mortifying  delays  of  explana- 
tions and  negotiations  across  the  Atlantic,  on  emergencies  in  our 
neighbourhood,  render  such  a  provision  indispensable,  and  it  cannot 
be  long  before  all  the  governuients  of  Kurope,  luiving  American  co- 
lonies, must  see  the  necessity  of  making  it.  This  object,  therefore, 
will  likewise  claim  your  special  attention. 

It  only  remains  to  suggest,  that,  considering  the  possibility  of 
some  intermediate  violences  between  citi/.ens  of  the  I'^nited  States 
and  the  French  or  Spaniards  in  consequence  of  the  interrujition  of 
our  right  of  deposite,  and  the  probability  that  considerable  damages 
will  have  been  occasioned  by  that  measure  to  citi/.ens  of  the  United 
States,  it  will  be  proper  that  indemnification  in  the  latter  ca'^t-  be 
provided  for,  and  that  in  the  former  it  shall  not  be  taken  on  either 
side  as  a  ground  or  pretext  for  hostilities. 

These  instructions,  th(»ugli  as  full  as  they  could  be  conveniently 
made,  will  necessarily  leave  much  to  your  discretion.  For  the  pro- 
per exercise  of  it,  the  president  relies  on  your  information,  your 
judgment,  and  your  fidelity  to  the  interests  of  your  country. 

lAAlES  iMAUlSUN. 


attention 
tes  at  the 
rough  tiie 
rs  by  citi- 
ited  in  re- 
s  appli ca- 
ul all  may 

from  tiie 

le  United 


Mr.  3Iadlso)i,  Sccrelari/  of  Sfafr.  of  the  I'nilcd  Sfalts,  to  Messrs. 
Livliii^'ilon  cold  Mourot\  dated  Jipril,  18,  1803. 

[extract.] 

A  month  having  elapsed  since  the  departure  of  Mr.  Monroe,  it 
may  be  presumed  that  by  the  time  this  reaches  you,  communica- 
tions will  have  passed  with  the  French  government  suflicieiifly  ck- 
plaining  its  views  towards  the  l^iited  States  and  preparing  the  way 
for  the  ulterior  instructions  winch  the  president  thinks  proper  should 
ROW  be  given. 


416 


Ari>KM)l\. 


In  case  a  conventional  arraniiciucnt  \\U\i  France  should  have  re- 
sulted from  the  nej!;otialions  witli  whicli  you  are  chai'j!;etl:  or  in  ca«(; 
such  should  not  have  been  (ho  result;  but  no  doubt  should  be  Idl 
that  the  Frencii  government  means  to  respect  duly  our  rij:;hts,  and 
to  cultivate,  sincerely,  peace  and  frieiwKhip  with  the  I'nited  States, 
it  will  be  expedient  lor  you  to  make  such  communications  to  the 
British  government  as  will  assure  it  that  nothing  has  been  done  in- 
consistent with  our  good  faith,  and  as  w  ill  prevent  a  diminution  ol 
tlie  srood  understaudini!;  whicli  subsists  between  the  two  countries. 

If  the  French  government,  instead  of  friendly  arrangements  or 
views,  shotdd  be  found  to  meditate  hostilities,  or  to  have  formed 
projects  which  will  constrain  the  Tnited  States  to  resort  to  hostilities, 
such  communications  are  tlien  to  be  held  with  the  British  govern- 
ment as  will  sound  its  dispositions  and  invite  its  concurrence  in  the 
war.  Your  own  prudence  will  suggest  that  the  comnuinications  be 
so  made,  as,  on  one  hand,  not  to  precipitate  France  into  iiostile  ope- 
rations, and,  on  the  othei-,  not  to  lead  (ireat  Britain  from  the  sup- 
position that  war  de])ends  on  the  clu)ice  of  the  United  States,  and 
that  their  clioice  of  war  will  depend  on  her  participation  in  it.  If 
war  is  to  be  the  result,  it  is  manifestly  desirable  that  it  be  delayed 
until  the  certainty  of  this  result  can  be  known,  and  the  legislative 
and  other  ])rovisions  can  be  made  hero;  and  also  of  groat  importance 
that  the  certainty  should  not  be  known  to  Great  Britain,  who  might 
take  advantage  of  the  posture  of  things  to  press  on  the  United  States 
disagreeable  conditions  of  her  entering  into  the  war. 

It  will  probably  be  most  convenient  in  exchanging  ideas  with  the 
British  government,  to  make  use  of  its  public  miTiister  at  Paris; 
as  less  likely  to  alarm  and  stimulate  the  French  government,  and 
to  raise  the  pretensions  of  the  British  government,  than  the  repair- 
ing of  cither  of  you  to  London,  which  might  be  viewed  by  both  as 
a  signal  of  rupture.  The  latter  course,  however,  may  possibly  be 
rendered  most  eligible  by  the  pressure  of  the  crisis. 

Notwithstanding  the  just  repugnance  of  this  country  to  a  coali- 
tion of  any  sort  with  the  belligerent  policies  of  Euro])e,  the  advan- 
tages to  be  derived  from  the  co-operation  of  Great  Britain  in  a  war 
of  the  United  States,  at  this  period,  against  France  and  her  allies, 
are  too  obvious  and  too  important  to  be  renounced.  And  notwith- 
standing the  apparent  disinclination  of  the  British  councils  to  a  re- 
newal of  hostilities  with  France,  it  will  probably  yieU'  to  the  vari- 
ous motives  whicli  will  be  felt  to  have  the  United  States  in  the  scale 
of  Britain  against  France,  and  particularly  for  the  immediate  pnr- 


^-'*4 


M'l  1..M<1\, 


117 


jiosc  ol"  (ietoatinj;  a  jirojectdr  tlie  laiter,  wliicli  ban  evidently  created 
imuli  solicitude  in  tiie  British  <>;ovennnent. 

Tlie  price  wiiicli  she  may  attach  to  her  co-o|)eiation  catinot  be 
lorosecii,  and  thcielbre  cannot  be  the  subject  ol"  Inll  and  precise  iii- 
■ilructions.  It  may  be  ex])ected  tiiat  she  will  insist  at  least  ou  a 
.-stipulation,  that  neither  of  the  jjarties  shall  make  a  ])cacc  or  truce 
without  the  consent  of  the  other;  and  as  such  an  article  cannot  be 
deemed  unreasonable,  and  will  secure  us  against  the  possibility  of 
iier  bein<^  detached  in  the  course  of  the  war,  by  seduciiiir  overtures 
from  /ranee,  it  will  not  be  proper  to  raise  ditliculties  on  that  account. 
It  may  be  useful,  however,  to  draw  from  her  a  dclinition,  as  far  as 
the  case  will  admit,  of  the  objects  contemplated  by  her,  that  when- 
over  with  ours  they  may  be  attainable,  by  peace,  she  may  be  duly 
pressed  to  listen  to  it.  Such  an  exj)lanati()n  will  be  the  more  rea- 
•sonable,  as  the  objects  of  the  United  States  will  be  so  fair  and  so 
well  known. 

It  is  eipially  |)robable  that  a  stipulation  of  commercial  advau- 
ta2;es  in  the  Mississippi,  beyond  those  secured  by  existing  treaties, 
will  be  reepjired.  On  this  point  it  may  be  answered  at  once,  that 
threat  Britain  shall  enjoy  a  free  trade  witii  all  the  ports  to  be  ac- 
tjuired  by  the  United  States  on  the  terms  allowed  to  the  most  fa- 
voured nation  in  the  jtorts  {jjenerally  of  the  United  States.  If  made 
an  cssenfial  condition,  you  may  admit  that  in  the  ports  to  be  ac- 
quired witliin  the  Mississippi,  the  trade  of  her  subjects  shall  be  ou 
the  same  fooiin;^-  for  a  term  of  about  ten  years  with  tliat  of  our  own 
citi/.ens.  IJut  the  United  States  are  not  to  be  bound  to  the  exclu- 
si(m  of  the  trade  of  any  particular  nation  or  nations. 

Should  a  mutual  ;i;uarunlee  of  the  cxistinji-  ])ossessions  or  of  the 
I'oncpiests  to  be  made  by  the  parties  be  proposed,  it  must  be  expli- 
"I'itly  reji'cted,  as  of  no  value  to  the  United  States,  and  as  cntan- 
'^lin<;  them  in  the  freijuent  wars  of  thai  nation  with  (»ther  powers, 
and  very  possibly  in  disputes  witii  that  nation  itself. 

The  anxiety  whicli  (ireat  Jiriiain  has  shown  to  extend  her  do- 
iVKiin  to  the  Missi:«sippi,  the  uncertain  extent  of  her  claims,  from 
north  to  south,  beyond  the  western  limits  of  the  United  States,  and 
the  attention  she  had  paid  to  the  norih-west  coast  of  America,  make 
it  j)robabie  that  she  will  connect  with  a  war  on  this  occasion  a  pre- 
tension to  the  ac([uisition  of  the  country  on  the  west  side  of  the 
jNIississipjii,  understood  to  be  ceded  by  Spain  to  France,  or  at  least 
of  that  jiortion  of  it  lyin*^  between  that  river  and  the  Missouri. 
The  evils  involved  in  such  an  extension  of  her  possessions  in  our 


nu 


M'l'I.MM.N. 


iii'i<;iibuiuliotiil,  aiul  in  sucli  a  liold  on  tlip  Mississi|)i)i,  arc  obviou>. 
'J'lic  a((|iiisiti(iii  is  tlic  nior(!  objt'c  tioiial)k',  as  il  woiiltl  !)('  extiemu- 
Iv  displeasing  to  our  wesk'rn  cili/j-n^:  and  as  its  evident  bisiiinji; 
on  Soutli  Aiiiorica  mij^ht  bo  expected  to  arouse  all  the  jealousies  of 
Fnintc  and  Spain,  and  to  prolong  the  war  on  which  the  event  would 
depend.  Should  this  jjretension,  therefore,  be  pressed,  it  must  be, 
resisted  as  ailnuieihcr  repui^nant  to  the  sentiments  and  the  sound 
policy  of  the  Tnited  Slates.  IJut  it  niaj  be  aj^reeil,  in  alleviation 
of  any  disapiiointn\ent  of  (ireat  Britain,  that  France  shall  not  be 
allowed  to  retain  «tr  ac<|uire  any  part  of  the  territory  from  whicli 
rrhe  herself  would  be  precluded. 

'J'he  moment  the  prospect  of  war  shall  re([uire  the  precaution, 
you  will  not  o\>iit  to  i^ive  confidential  m)tii  e  to  our  ministers  and 
consuls,  '■  d  to  our  naval  commanders  in  the  Mediterranean,  that 
our  commerce  and  ])ublic  ships  may  be  as  little  exposed  to  the  dan- 
i^cr  as  possible.  It  may,  under  certain  circumstances,  be  proper  to 
notify  the  dan;i;er  immediately  to  the  collectors  in  the  principal 
ports  of  the  I'nited  States. 

Herewith  enclosed,  are  t^o  blank  plenipotentiary  commissions 
and  letters  of  credence  to  the  French  and  IJritish  p;overnment3. 
Those  for  the  British  government  are  to  be  filled  with  the  name  of 
.Mr.  Monroe,  unle.  s  his  mission  to  France  should  have  an  issue 
likely  (o  be  disau;reeab1e  to  (uoat  Ihitain;  in  wiiich  case  the  presi- 
dent would  wish  Mr.  Livin«i,ston"s  inseitcd,  if  the  translatimi  be 
not  disagreeable  to  him,  and  the  name  of  Mr.  Monroe  inserted  in 
the  commission  for  the  French  rej)ublic.  To  provide  for  the  event 
of  Mr.  Jiivint!;ston*s  translation,  a  letter  of  leave  is  enclosed. 

A  se])arate  letter  to  you  is  also  enclosed,  authori/.iiii;-  you  to  en- 
ter into  such  communications  and  conferences  with  British  minis- 
teis  as  niay  possibly  be  required  by  the  conduct  of  France.  The 
letter  is  made  a  separate  one,  that  it  may  be  used  with  the  effect, 
but  without  the  formality  of  a  commission.  It  is  hoped  that  sound 
calculations  of  interest,  as  v.cll  as  a  sense  of  iij;;ht,  in  the  French 
'^o\ornment  will  prevent  the  necessity  of  usinj;  the  authority  ex- 
]>ressed  in  this  letter,  in  a  contrary  state  of  things  the  jjresident 
relies  on  your  own  information  to  be  gained  on  the  spot,  and  on 
your  best  discreiion,  to  o|)en  with  advantaj^c  the  conununications 
with  the  British  i;overnment,  and  to  projiortion  the  dej^roeof  an  un- 
dorstaudiuu;  with  it,  to  the  indications  of  an  approaching  war  with 
France.  Of  these  indicatiojis  also,  vou  will  be  best  able  to  judge. 
!t  M  ill  onl V  be  observed  to  vou.  that  if  France  should  avow  or  evince 


I 

111 


T 


APPENDIX. 


lt<» 


ic  obvious. 
L'  oxtremc- 
lit  beaiiiij;; 
alousies  ol" 
kont  would 
it  must  be. 
tlio  sound 
alleviation 
all  not  be 
loin  which 

u'ccaution, 
isters  and 
nean,  that 
to  till'  dan- 
!  proper  to 
principal 

ntmissions 
ernmcnts. 
le  name  of 
:  an  issue 
the  presi- 
islation  be 
iisertod  in 
the  event 
)se(l. 

you  to  cn- 
isli  minis- 
ice.  Tile 
the  ellect, 
hat  sound 
lie  French 
hority  ex- 
president 
(t,  and  on 
unications 
',  ol'  an  un- 
;  war  with 
to  judge, 
or  evince 


a  determination  to  deny  to  the  f'nited  Slates  the  tVeo  navi^^ation 
of  the  Mississippi,  your  consultations  with  Great  Britain  may  be 
held,  on  the  ground  that  war  is  inevitable.  Should  the  navi<riifion 
not  be  disputed,  and  <he  deposite  alone  be  denied,  it  will  be  pru- 
dent to  adopt  your  consultations  to  the  possibility  that  congress 
may  distinguish  between  the  two  cases,  and  make  a  (p^'stion  how 
far  the  latter  right  may  call  for  an  instant  resort  to  arms,  or  how^ 
far  a  procrastinaticm  of  that  remedy  may  be  suggested  and  justified 
by  the  prospect  of  a  more  favourable  conjuncture. 

These  instructions  have  thus  farsupjiosed  that  (ireat  Britain  and 
France  are  at  peace,  and  that  neither  of  them  at  present  intend 
to  interrupt  it.  Should  war  have  actually  commenced,  or  its  ap- 
proach be  certain,  France  will  no  doubt  be  the  more  apt  to  concur 
in  friendly  accommodations  with  us,  and  Great  I'lritain  the  more 
desirous  of  engaging  us  on  her  side.  You  will  of  course  avail  your- 
selves of  this  posture  of  things  for  avoiding  the  necessity  of  recur- 
ring to  Great  Britain,  or  if  the  necessity  cannot  be  avoided  for  fa- 
shioning her  disjiosition  to  arrangements  which  may  be  the  least  in- 
convenient to  the  Unit(>d  States:  whatever  connexion,  indeed,  may 
be  eventually  formed  with  Great  Britain,  in  reference  to  war,  the 
policy  of  the  United  States  re(|uires  that  it  be  as  little  entangling 
as  the  nature  of  the  case  will  permit. 


Messrs.  JAvhvj^nton  and  Monroi\   to  Mr.  3Ia(Uson,    Sccrctarij  of 
State  of  the  United  States,  dated  May  1.3,  ISO... 

[extuact.J 

Wc  have  the  pleasure  to  transmit  to  you  by  M.  O'Erieux,  a 
treaty  which  we  have  concluded  with  the  French  republic  for  the 
purchase  and  cession  of  liouisiaua.  The  negotiation  of  this  impor- 
tant object  was  committed,  on  the  jnrt  of  France,  to  M.  Marbois, 
minister  of  the  treasury,  whose  conduct  therein  has  already  re- 
ceived the  sanction  of  his  government,  as  appears  by  the  ratifica- 
tion of  the  first  consul,  which  we  have  also  the  pleasure  to  forward 
to  you. 

Our  acquisition  of  so  great  an  extent  was,  wc  well  know,  not 
contemplated  by  our  appointment;  but  we  are  peisuaded  that  the 
circumstances  and  considerations  which  induced  us  to  make  it,  will 
justify  us  in  the  measure  to  our  government  and  countrv . 

57 


lOO 


\Pl'KN!)IX. 


Hoforo  the  nc;;otiaiioii  commenced,  we  were  appii/eil  tl»at  the 
lirst  consul  lia<l  dccicU'd  to  olVn-  to  the  United  Htatcs,  by  sale,  the 
whole  of  liouisiana,  and  not  a  part  of  i(.  We  found  in  the  outset 
tliat  this  information  was  toneil;  so  that  we  had  to  decide  as  a 
previous  <|ueNti(in  whether  we  would  treat  for  tlie  wliole,  or  jeopar- 
<li/.e,  if  not  abandon  the  iiope  (d"at([uirinj^  any  part.  On  that  point, 
we  did  i;ot  bjnj^  hesitate,  but  proceeded  to  treat  for  the  whole. 
We  were  pcisuaded  that,  by  so  doinj;,  it  nujj;ht  be  possible,  if  more 


d)le,  t( 


ludi 


itually  a  treaty  f< 


lart, 


being 


since 
thus  possessed  of  tlie  subject,  it  mij^lit  be  easy,  in  tliscussion,  at 
least,  to  lead  from  a  view  of  the  whole  to  that  of  a  part,  and  with 
some  advantages  peculiar  to  a  negotiation  on  so  great  a  scale.  By 
treating  for  the  whole,  whereby  we  should  be  enabled  to  ascertain 
the  idea  which  was  entertained  by  this  government  of  its  valuej  we 
should  also  be  able  i  form  some  estimate  of  that  which  was  afHxcd 
to  the  value  of  its  parts.  It  wa«,  t(M),  probable  tliat  a  less  sum 
would  be  asked  for  the  whole,  if  sold  entire  to  a  single  purchaser, 
a  friendly  power  who  was  able  to  pay  for  it,  and  whom  it  might  be 
disposed  to  accommodate  at  the  present  juncture,  than  if  it  should 
be  sold  in  parcels,  either  to  several  powers  or  companies  of  indivi- 
duals: it  was  cciually  so,  if  this  government  should  be  finally  pre- 
vailed on  to  sell  us  a  part,  that  some  regard  would  be  paid  in  the 
price  asked  for  it,  to  that  which  was  demanded  for  the  whole;  last- 
ly, by  treating  for  the  whole,  whereby  the  attention  of  this  govern- 
ment would  be  drawn  to  the  United  States  as  the  sole  purchasers, 
we  might  prevent  the  interference  of  other  powers,  as  also  that  of 
individuals,  which  might  prove  equally  injurious  in  regard  to  the 
])rice  asked  for  it,  whether  we  acquired  the  whole  or  any  part  of 
the  territory.  We  found,  however,  as  we  advanced  in  the  negotia- 
tion, that  M.  Marbois  was  absolutely  restricted  to  the  disposition  of 
the  whole;  that  he  would  treat  for  no  less  portion,  and  of  course 
that  it  was  useless  to  urge  it.  On  mature  consideration,  therefore, 
we  finally  concluded  a  treaty  on  the  best  terms  we  could  obtain  for 
the  whole. 

By  this  measure,  we  have  sought  to  carry  into  ciVect  to  the  ut- 
termost of  our  power,  the  wise  and  benevolent  policy  of  our  go- 
vernment, on  the  principles  laid  down  in  our  instructions.  The 
possession  of  the  left  bank  of  the  river,  had  it  been  attainable  alone, 
would,  it  is  true,  have  accomplished  much  in  that  respect;  but  it 
is  equally  true  that  it  would  have  left  much  still  to  accomplish. 
By  it  our  people  would  have  had  an  outlet  to  the  ocean,  in  which 
no  power  would  have  a  right  to  disturb  them;  but  while  the  other 


1\ 


API'KNDIX. 


Ifll 


bank  rcinaincil  in  tlie  possession  of  ii  r<irei;^ii  ])o\vei,  circiiinstanci's 
inifjjlit  occnr  to  maki*  the  iioii^libomliood  of  sntli  po\v(M-  liijflilv  inju- 
rious to  us  in  many  of  our  .nost  iiiijioitant  concorns.  A  divided 
jurisdiction  over  tlu-  river  nii<2;ht  bef^et  jealousies,  discontents,  and 
dissensiotis,  \vliicli  the  wisest  policy  on  our  part  could  not  prevent 
or  control.  AVith  a  train  of  colonial  <;;overnnients  established  alonj; 
^  the  western  bank,  from  the  entrance  of  the  river,  far  into  the  inte- 
rior, under  the  command  of  military  men,  it  would  be  dillicult  to 
preserve  that  state  of  thitij^s  which  would  be  necessary  to  the  peace 
and  tionquillity  of  our  country.  A  single  act  of  a  capricious,  un- 
friendly, or  unprincipled  subaltern  mi;^ht  wound  our  best  interests, 
violate  our  niost  unfjucstionable  iij.>;hts,  and  involve  us  in  war.  IJut, 
by  this  acquisition,  which  comprises  within  our  limits  this  j!;rcat  ri- 
ver and  all  the  streams  that  emjity  into  it,  from  their  sources  to  the 
ocean,  the  apprehensions  of  these  disasters  is  banished  for  ages  from 
the  United  States.  W'c  adjust  by  it  the  only  remaining  known 
cause  of  variance  with  this  very  powerful  nation:  we  anticipate  the 
discontent  of  the  great  rival  of  France,  who  would  |)robably  have 
been  wounded  at  any  stipnlation  of  a  permanent  nature  which  fa- 
voured the  latter,  and  which  it  would  have  been  dillicult  to  avoid, 
had  she  retained  the  right  bank.  We  cease  to  have  a  motive  of 
urgency,  at  least  for  inclining  to  one  power,  to  avert  the  unjust 
pressure  of  another.  We  separate  ourselves  in  a  great  measure 
from  the  European  world  and  its  concerns,  especially  its  wars  and 
intrigues;  we  make,  in  line,  a  great  stride  to  real  and  substantial 
independence,  the  good  eflect  whereof  will,  we  trust,  be  felt  essen- 
tially and  extensively  in  all  our  foreign  and  domestic  relations. 
Without  exciting  the  apprehensions  of  any  power,  we  take  a  more 
imposing  attitude  with  respect  to  all.  The  bond  of  our  union  will 
be  strengthened,  and  its  movements  becouic  more  liarmonious  by 
the  increased  parity  of  interest  which  it  will  communicate  to  the 
several  parts  which  compose  if. 

In  deliberating  on  this  subject  in  a  financial  view,  we  were 
strongly  impressed  with  the  idea,  that  while  we  had  only  a  right  of 
deposite,  or,  indeed,  while  the  right  bank  lomained  in  the  possession 
of  a  foreign  power,  it  was  always  to  be  expected  that  we  should,  at 
some  time  or  other,  be  involved  in  war  on  (juestions  resulting  froni 
that  cause.  We  were  well  satisfied  that  any  ^var  would  cost  us 
more  than  hereby  is  stipulated  to  be  given  for  this  territoryj  that 
none  could  produce  a  more  favourable  result,  while  it  might,  espe- 


l! 


i\ 


!l 


U)l 


\l'i'F,M>l\. 


i 


cially  in  the  jncsent  disturbed  state  of  the  world,  jnove  the  ruin  ol 
our  atl'iirs. 

There    were  other  (.oiihideralion! 
portaiue,  had,  nevertheless,  their  ( 


tl 


i  which,   thoui^l)  of  minor 
s,  their  due  weij^ht  in  our  decision 
ranee,  or  any  otlier  power  iioldiii<; 


im- 
on 

th 


lis  i;ieat  (jiiestion.  li  hrance,  or  any  other  power  lioiuiii<;  tlie 
right  bank  of  (he  river,  imposed  lif^htcr  duties  than  comport  with 
the  revenue  system  of  tlie  United  States,  supposinj^  even  that  we 
had  ac(|uiied  the  left  bank,  all  the  supplies  destined  for  our  exten- 
sive and  pojiidous  settlenients,  on  the  other  side,  would  be  smug- 
i^led  in  through  tliat  channel,  and  our  revenue  tliereby  considerably 
diminished,  tshoulil  such  power  open  olVues  for  the  sale  of  lands 
on  the  western  hank,  our  pojiulation  might  be  drained  to  the  advan- 
tage of  that  power,  the  price  of  our  lands  be  diminislied,  and  their 
sale  prevented.  But  by  the  possession  of  both  banks,  these  evils 
aii;  averted. 

The  terms  on  which  we  have  made  this  acquisition,  when  com- 
pared with  tlie  o!)jects  obtained  by  it,  will,  we  ilatter  ourselves,  be 
deemed  advantageous  to  our  country.  AVe  have  stipulated,  as  you 
will  see  by  the  tieaty  and  conventions,  that  the  United  States  shall 
pay  to  the  French  government  sixty  millions  of  francs,  in  stock, 
bearing  an  interest  of  six  per  cent,  and  a  sum  not  exceeding  twen- 
ty millions  more  to  our  citi/.ens  in  discharge  of  the  debts  due  to 
them  by  France,  under  the  convention  of  1800;  and  also  to  exempt 
the  manufactures,  productions,  and  vessels  of  France  and  Spain, 
in  the  direct  trade  (rom  those  countries,  respectively  in  the  ports 
of  the  ceded  territory,  from  foreign  duties  for  the  term  of  twelve 
years.  The  stock  is  to  be  created  irredeemable  for  fifteen  years, 
and  discharged  afterwards  in  e(]ual  annual  instalments:  the  inte- 
rest on  It  is  to  be  paid  in  Europe,  and  the  principal,  in  case  this 
government  thinks  proper  to  sell  it,  disposed  of  in  such  manner 
as  will  be  most  conducive  to  the  credit  of  the  American  funds. 
The  debts  due  to  our  citizens  are  to  be  discharged  by  drafts  on  our 
treasury.  We  omit  a  more  minute  view  of  the  stipulations  of 
these  instruments,  since,  as  you  will  possess  them,  it  is  unneces- 
sary. 

Louisiana  was  acquired  of  Spain  by  France  in  exchange  for  Tus- 
cany, which  latter  is  settled  by  treaty  on  the  son-in-law  of  the 
king  of  Spain,  with  the  title  oi'  king  of  Etruria,  and  was  estimated 
in  the  exchange,  in  consideration  of  its  revenue,  at  l()(),()()U,00t) 
tVancs.     The  fust  cunsul  thought  he   had   made   an  advantageous^ 


!!" 


\prF,M>i.\. 


la.i 


Llic  rum  ot 

minor  im- 
ccision  on 
i)Uliiig  the 
nport  with 
;n  that  wo 
our  oxten- 
1  be  siTiug- 
iisiderably 
le  of  lands 
the  advan- 
,  and  their 
tliese  evils 

vhcii  com- 

rselves,  be 

;ed,  as  you 

ftates  shall 

,  in  stock, 

ding  twen- 

.'bts  due  to 

to  exempt 

nd  Spain, 

\  the  j)ort« 

ot  twelve 

cen  years, 

the  inte- 

case  this 

h  manner 

an  funds. 

ifts  on  our 

ilations  ot 

■*  unueccs- 

e  for  Tus- 

aw  of  the 

estimated 

i(),UOU,000 
i-antageous 


bargain  lu  that  exchange,  as  appears  by  the  high  idea  whicii  he  en- 
tertained of  its  value,  as  shown  on  many  occasions.   I^ouisiana  was 
the  territory  wliicli  he  promised  in  his  proclamation  at  the  peace  as 
an  asylum  to  tlie^e  who  had  become  iinfortuna((!  by  the  revolution, 
and  which  he  -poke  of  as  vast  and  fertile.     AVlien  he  made  up  his 
mind  t()  offer  the  cession  of  it  to  the  United  States,  it  was  contem- 
plated to  ask  for  it  I00,()()(),000,  exclusive  of  the  debts  they  owed 
to  our  citi/.ens,  which  they  proposed  we  should  also  pay,  with  a  ])er- 
petual  t'xemption  from  foreign  duties  on  the  manufactures,  produc- 
tions, and  vessels  of  France  and  Sjiain,  ii?  the  ports  of  the  ceded 
territory.     From  iliat  ('.mikuuI,  however,  in  respect  to  <''.c-  sum,  he 
receded,  under  the  ileliberation  of  his  owk  cabinrU  for  the  fust 
proposition  which  M.  Marbois  made  to  us,  was,  that  we  should  pay 
eighty  millions,  sixty  of  which  in  cash,  the  balance  to  our  citi/.ens, 
the  whole  in  one  year  in  Paris,  witli  a  peipetual  exemption  from  fo- 
reign duti  >s,  as  above.    The  modification  in  tiie  mode  of  payuicnt, 
that  is  by  stock,  for  from  the  quantum  he  never  would  depart,  and 
the  limitation  of  the  term  of  the  duties  to  twelve  years,  with  the 
proviso  annexed  to  it,  which  was   introduced  into  the  treaty  with 
every  other  change  from  his  ])roject,  was  the  effect  of  negotiation 
and  accommodation,  in  which  we  experienced  on  his  part  and  that 
of  his  government,  a  promptitude  and  candour  which  were  highly 
grateful  to  us. 

In  estimating  the  real  value  of  this  country  to  the  Tnited  States, 
a  variety  of  considerations  occur,  all  of  which  merit  due  atten- 
tion. Of  these  we  have  already  noticed  many  of  a  general  na- 
ture, to  which,  however,  it  may  be  difficult  to  fix  a  precise  value. 
Others  present  themselves  of  a  nature  more  definite,  to  which  it 
will  be  more  practicable  to  fix  some  standard.  Hy  possessing  both 
banks,  the  wliole  revenue  or  duty  on  im[)orts  will  accrue  to  the 
I'nitcd  States,  which  must  be  considerable.  The  \alue  of  the  ex- 
l)orts,  we  have  understood,  was  last  year  four  millions  of  dollars. 
If  a  portion  only  of  the  imports  pass  througli  that  channel,  as  un- 
der our  government  we  presume  they  will,  the  amount  of  the  re- 
venue will  be  considerable.  'I'his  will  aiinuallv  increase  in  propor- 
tion as  the  population  and  productions  in  that  cpiarter  do.  The  va- 
lue of  the  laiiils,  in  the  province  of  lionisiam,,  amounting  to  some 
hundred  millions  of  acres  of  the  best  i|iiality,  and  in  the  best  cli- 
mate, is,  perhaps,  incalculable.  From  either  of  these  sources,  it  is 
not  doubted  that  the  sum  stipulated  mav  be  raisod  in  time  tn  di« 
I'liariT''  ilie  dfhf. 


4.04 


APPENDIX. 


No.   19. 


The  followiiif^  letter  is  taken  from  the  same  congressional  docu' 
ment  as  the  papeis  in  No.  US, — Tuansi.. 


Mr.  Livingston  lo  iMr.  Madiwn,  Secrdunj  of  State  of  /•  •  United 
Slates,  dated  Pari%  •2(Hh  May,  180.3. 

[extract.] 

I  called  this  mornin<^  upon  M.  Marbois  for  a  farther  explana- 
tion on  this  subject,  (the  cession  of  Louisiana,)  and  to  remind  him 
of  his  havin<5  told  me  that  Mobile  made  a  part  of  the  c(  ssion.  He 
told  me  that  he  had  no  precise  idea  on  the  subject,  but  tl  at  he  knew 
it  tc>  be  an  liistorioal  fact,  and  on  that  only  he  had  formed  his  opi- 
nion. I  asked  him  what  orders  hail  been  given  to  the  prefect  that 
was  to  take  possession,  or  wliat  orders  had  been  given  by  Spain  as 
to  the  boundary  in  ceding  it.  He  assured  me  that  he  did  not  know, 
but  that  he  would  make  the  inquiry  atid  let  me  know.  At  four 
o'clock  I  called  fur  Mr,  Monroe  to  take  him  to  the  minister  for  fo- 
reign affair;-,  but  he  was  prevented  from  accompanying  me.  I  asked 
the  minister  what  were  the  last  bounds  of  the  territory  ceded  to  us; 
he  sai<l  he  did  not  know;  we  must  take  it  as  they  had  received  it. 
I  asked  him  l-ow  Spain  meant  to  give  them  possession;  he  said  ac- 
cording to  ;l:e  vvords  of  the  treaty,  liut  where  did  you  mean  to 
taker  I  do  not  know.  Then  you  mean  ti»at  we  shall  construe  it 
our  own  way.-  I  can  give  you  no  direction;  you  have  made  a  no- 
ble bargain  for  yourselves,  and  I  suppose  you  will  make  the  most 
of  it. 


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ERRATA. 


Owrxr.  to  the  absence  of  the  Truuslator  lioni  the  place  of  piil)]ication,  a  nuin 
bcr  of  typographical  inaccuracies  will  be  fomul  in  this  workj  most  of  v.liich, 
it  is  believed,  are  pointed  out  in  the  following  list: — 


Fai^c  19, 

*k 

24, 

•I 

26, 

lb 

29. 

II 

29, 

II 

30, 

II 

4V, 

i» 

(IS, 

II 

60, 

II 

61, 

II 

73, 

II 

70, 

M 

B'J, 

tl 

105, 

II 

100, 

4k 

IN, 

<t 

116, 

II 

J3I, 

11 

131. 

II 

142, 

11 

146, 

line   7, for  /(  tco*  r(a<l  U  ir. 

lino   4,  for  rataitrop/iies  icaJ  rafaitro- 

/ihes. 
linu  2?,  fur  Admiit  read  Atltwues. 
line   1,  fo-  permit  ri'iiil  cnitir. 
line  n,fw  efforts  itml  exfi lior.s. 
line  10,  for  lu  'lail  /luwi. 
\inc  14. (bi  riiatlis  nail  iltnth, 
line  2«,  iov  citix^em  irail  i Hiz/'ii. 
line   y.  for  inmU  JrnU  ti«il  sliculil  furl. 
line  "0,  for  Jiimiiiiville  r(  !i('  Jiininiiv'lies. 
note,  for  Culumhus  read  Columbia. 
line  29,  foi  Je.tuit's  read  Jesuits'. 
line   9,  lov  this  read  '/«'. 
line    l,for  (Ae  nail  a»;/. 
line   6,  for    Ph;  il'/iomtr.f   read    P;urf- 

transpose  marki  of  quotation  (  " )  from 

line  15  10  23. 
line  C,  add  nj'  afti'r  foumlutitm. 
lice  17,  for  as  numerous  itad  so  uume- 

rout. 
line  17,  for  or  as  lead  nor  su, 
line   9,  liir  6y  nail  yi.''. 
line  IC,  for  1778  read  1783. 


rage  150,  line  27,  add  commn  ( , )  after  pefpctuui. 

"    161,  line  13,  lor  ;( lead  sli(. 

"    lfi5,  la»t  line,  deli  /Ac;j. 

"   1 6S,  line  16,  for  disarmed  nad  unarnirc'. 

"   182,  line  12,  f.)r  c/' uad  to. 

"    134,  line  18,  add  on  after  drawn. 

"    llrt,  line  ll,<lele,/;)r. 

"   207,  line  ;6,  lor  Jwste  read  foresee. 

"   2li,  la^i  line,  to,'  cslablishiii'r  f  ad  rstablM. 

"  2.U,line   4,  tot  drpetids  rcail  (b-per.d, 

"  266,  line  12, forf/iancM  tic  7<,i(/  read  clmtlit 
itt  iihalt. 

"  271,  lino  S,for  or/r  nad  ct'c,  andadd^obe- 
fv/r.-  the. 

«'  2B7,  line  IS  of  note,  for  that  read  in  irhkh. 

"   306,  line  It)  of  note,  for  aptiears  read  apfitar. 

"   309,  line  20,  for  ivh'ch  read  Ji'/io. 

"    322,  li'ie   2,  li>r  enormity  read  tnormotisntss. 

"   347,  line  S,  for  i?a,';na^f"  r(«d  i/oi,'Jianf. 

"  3»?,  line   9,  for  oni/ n-atl  oA 

"  S49,  line  25,  for  arises  read  arise. 

"  355,  linfe  3,fur thntt/iey/iutsessed read  whiiii 
they  possess. 

"   3()'P,  line  2;),  for  thai  ivad  7e//en. 

"  37S,  line  26,  tot  vengeance  "f  read  vcngcanci 
on. 


I  ir 


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^ 


/  T'  n 


/I 


Ji'A. 


ation,  a  niiifi  - 
)st  of  wliicli, 


I  after  /leipetuai, 


id  unarmtt!. 


lovcsee. 
!■•  ad  fStabUih. 
I  depend, 
zuill  rt-'ail  chatut 

>,  and  adil /o  br- 

iTad  in  n^hk/t. 

ars  itad  apptar. 

vim. 

J  tnormciitsness- 

I  itai;uant. 


rise. 

eased  rcnAwhicii 

s. 

len. 

"iiad  vengeance 


